On this very night, new year eve two years ago (or would have
if I had worked an hour faster . . . make that two), I posted
the first chapter of Digimorphs 03, and now I realize, a
group is stronger than one person.
First I thought after I got Light Sneasel's review (my personal go ahead signal) I'd get this chapter done by Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day, well, late as it is, here you go.
I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry. I just hope you people aren't losing interest in this story story just because of the surplus detail and extra long waiting time between chapters. I have so many stories that have waited over a year for me to work on. But I've chosen to focus on this one. Leaving the readers of those stories wanting. You can't please everyone I know, but it still doesn't make it pleasant.
Also, I went with the dubbed version of Terriermon's attack. Sorry.
Mistake on my part, Lee had started to wear his digi-vice on his ear a couple chapters back, it wasn't still in his pants, sorry.
Charles is unmatched when it comes to detail but cannon is totally my department and reading this story over again -man has it gotten long- I can see I haven't done that good a job. Sorry.
Conditioned reaction: Neon Genesis.
If I was to go back fix the bugs in the very first batch of chapters, would you people read them?
One problem with these chapter releases, you can go back and correct mistakes from before.
Do any of you people actually read these forewords?
After reading the old parts, I have to admit Reilly killing Trilly makes even less sense since she promised to share her winnings before hand with Reilly.
If we were to go back and alter the old chapters with a new coat of paint and better expression, would you read them again?
Chapter 8: "I must be her dad." Jeri thought. "It must be her dad." Jeri thought. Boy do I miss these things or what?
On a minor note a reviewer made a while back, he was right, I was wrong, Monodramon CAN walk on their back legs alone.
mad-man: read and find out.
Waynemon: This soon enough?
Gerjomarty: Think about the state of Calumon's forehead symbol and that might effect his cheerfulness. Rookies do not evolve to ultimates, guess again. Lee is just facing the fact you can't always chose not to fight. Takato became a guilmon because that's what he'd be if he was born a digimon. That's all I'll say. And by the way, I just want to say right now that I've your longer reviews, they make me smile.
nightdragon0: *giggles* You'll be surprised. And for Rika, I didn't think about that, but a good connection.
tremor3258: I agree totally and utterly, Guilmon IQ is not quite that bad in the anime, but like I said, I don't write every part. Like I said, I don't like messing with Charles' work as much as I should.
Black: Whenever Takato is fighting, he's along side Rika, when he's living the rest of his life, he's along side Jeri. Yes I do want to work more with Rika, but the other writers tend to leave her alone. When we begin writing again I'll be sure to write her again. I love longer review, so thank you.
Digimon Lantern 1: 1) I already have something in mind to snap Rika back to her senses, at least in part. 2) Heh. Don't we already know a Tamer from another reality? :-) 3) Sorry, way too cliché. 4) Well . . . I didn't think about that, and yes, she IS a Gatomon. 5) Rika couldn't care less about them. 6) Right now, the virus is only biological in nature. 7) Heh . . . you're so right about something but I won't say what. 8) Three times over you have no idea how right you're are. 9) Uh . . no . . Impmon fate lies somewhere else. No offence taken to doing it this way. I'm just sick of people doing a review just so they can yell at me that they didn't like I review I gave them.
Crow T R0bot : No frustration caused. I hate . . . OCs . . . Or rather, I hate the way they're used. nightdragon0's stories are the only time I've ever seen them used RIGHT. Takato doesn't know how Rika thinks. Ryo does. Actually, your theory is right on the money. I was wondering if anyone was going to pick that up.
Kara: Oh . . . you'll see . . . I just hope you guys don't all hate me TOO badly for this next part.
Light Sneasel: Your questions actually have one answer. It's okay. I'm losing my creative voice so I have no reason to debunk you. You're review is when I know to start fixing up the next part since you're my ultimate regular.
Offical names and spellings of many Tamer characters
Personal web site of the show's main producer:
It's now 2 AM PST here and I've been working on this non-stop since ten thirty so hope you all enjoy.
"MAGICAL BEAT!" - Opening of Ruin Explorers.
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Without hesitation or discussion, an unseen battle line was drawn across the twilight tunnel's width. In the center stood, Takato and Guilmon. The hell dragons could best defend the group at a distance, or, if the unknown threat somehow survived their fiery warm welcome, they had the best odds of prevailing in a claw-to-claw confrontation.
To Takato's right and Guilmon's left, Lee and Terriermon made ready to lend their guidance and support respectively. Their attacks may not have been anywhere near as powerful, or as long ranged, but anyone on the receiving end of their more precise Bunny Blast and Ice Pellets would definitely find the experience less than enjoyable.
High overhead, Kenta and Kazu prepared to drop down upon their unknown attacker, or attackers. Though misfits to the core of their beings, the pair had put away their argumentative and indecisive natures in the head of the moment. And neither was under any illusion. If it became necessary to sacrifice their lives, so be it. It would a small price to pay. The survival of their friends came first. Kids their age, especially laid back ones like the dynamic duo, should never had had to face unforgiving crossroads like this one, but they didn't have a choice. Even they wouldn't turn tale and leave their friends to face this alone. Maybe Kenta wasn't the only one who had been given a back bone by the change.
Only Jeri and Calumon stood slightly aside of the full morphs preparing to do battle. Her duty was clear: protect the defenseless Calumon and escape if it became necessary. Someone had to. All hope for finding a cure for the mysterious infection mutating the inhabitants of Tokyo might die if none of them survived.
Decidedly afraid, but not under it's command. They stood ready. To both face the enemy and support each other. United as one. Like friends.
Lee ordered. "Eyes front everyone! We don't know when it'll hit!" He never wanted the job of group leader but there was no one else. Takato was in no shape, the K boys were always followers, and after Jeri's angst attack last night Lee knew she had enough to deal with.
And like everyone else, she was completely focused on the tunnel's path ahead of them.
Two identical burning attacks streaked out of the darkness behind them, scoring a direct impact their intended targets: two wide red-scaled dinosaur posteriors.
Yelping in pain, Takatomon and Guilmon spun around returning "Pyro Sphere!"
Their fiery replies to the sneak attack was almost instantly joined by several "Ice Pellets" and "Bunny Blast"'s coming from Lee and Terriermon flying from their tiny island of light into the surrounding darkness. Kazu and Kenta in spite of their completed change had yet to learn how to launch their attacks, much like Jeri who had armed herself with a fist- sized rock Jeri had picked off the ground.
'It might not count for much against what's out there,' Jeri mused, 'but every bit counts. Right?'
No truer words had ever been thought.
In face, Jeri's attack couldn't do any worse, except for making more work for the repair crew that'd have to clean up the ruined walls, none of their digi-powered counter-attacks connected with their unknown, and now hysterically laughing, assailant -there was only one voice-. The digimon were too high on adrenaline to let the sick laugh phase them. Well hidden in the darkness beyond the reach of the tiny light bulb burning high overhead, their attacker felt safe from any retaliatory strike. The fact that its victims felt compelled, in upright and proper digimon manner, to announce their counter moves before launching only made them that easier to avoid.
"OUCH!!"
A rock thrown without any verbal warning whatsoever was simply unthinkable. Things like fireballs, lightning bolts, energy blasts, gusts of steel-hard air were perfectly normal and to be expected. Digimon could throw these, and many odder things, in combat: but a rock?
With the sudden death of the strange laughter Calumon demonstrated a child's microscopic attention span, when his terrorized whimpering suddenly switched to gleeful laughter. Whispering something so quietly that even Jeri enhanced hearing can't discern it, the little digimon wiggled out of her grasp and bounced into the darkness giggling.
Jeri yelled running close behind. "Calumon! Please come back!"
Without a word, the rest of the group broke ranks and followed as fast as they could. Not exactly the wisest course of action when dealing with an unknown threat, but a very, very human one when someone dear to their hearts, might be in imminent danger. Or would have if Calumon hadn't returned to the light a second later carrying their clearly larger enemy over his non- existent shoulders.
Terriermon's response, when he spotted the 'imminent danger' laying on the dirty tunnel floor with a goose-egg sized lump on his forehead, was a rather predictable, "Aw... crud! It's just that dork Impmon messing around in the dark." Larger when compared to Calumon. The bunny/dog gave the little devil a weak kick. "And I had a great boss battle back ground song going on in my head too!"
Dazed and only semi-conscious, the little purple demon digital monster responded to the depreciating remark by reflex alone.
"Hey! I'm an evil digimon of the night! I haunt the darkness!"
"Yeah, and I can see why." Lee observed sarcastically. "The less people see of you, the better. You're more Bozo than Beelzebub."
"Watch it, bunny!"
"That's... Mr. Bunny to you!"
"Just who is this guy with the over sized mouth?" Kazu asked landing from the ceiling starting everyone and delaying Impmon's conditioned instant insult reaction.
Lee recovered before Impmon. "Oh that's right you guys haven't met before. Impmon: the K-boys Kenta, and Kazu. Kenta, Kazu: Impmon. The most substandard evil digimon in the world."
Landing with a flap of his wings, Kenta clicked. "You sure he's not an escaped character from NiGHTS?" Kenta had loved that game.
"You mean." Calumon asked in a hurt tone. "It was you who scared us, Impmon?"
"Of course! And you were stupid enough to fall for it... dummy!"
"Kawaii!" Calumon's ears suddenly expanded to full size excited at the prospect of a new game. "How about you let me scare you next time?"
"Wha?! They'll be ice-skatin' competitions in digimon limbo before that happens!"
Lee, or rather the semi-dormant digimon portion of his altered personality, smirked mentally and tapped Impmon behind on the shoulder with one of his huge ears. When the pint-sized digital monster turned to look, he found the former human looking back at him innocently with his arms hanging limply by his sides. Terriermon needed no further prompting to get into the act. He lived for gags like this.
Bending over, the beige furred bunny-dog pushed Calumon within a inch of Impmon's spine after whispering instructions into one of his white ears. Nodding his acceptance to his role in the impromptu scheme, the little rotund digimon scrunched up his bland facial features, bugged out his immense eyeballs, and moved his ears foreword away from his face much like when Calumon had first meets Takato.
Grabbing the eggplant colored tail, Calumon gave it a strong yank while yelling, in the loudest and deepest voice his tiny lungs could produce. "BOO!"
Taken completely by surprise, it was a wonder Impmon's head didn't hit the ceiling. Instead, the purple hued digital demon spun around to find Calumon's distorted face only a fraction of an inch from his nose.
Falling back onto his rear in shock, Impmon's 'brow' twitched in anger.
"Youse . . . youse . . ."
"Do you need some dry underwear?" Terriermon teased.
"Thad's it!" Impmon roared. "Pa-pare for yer end! Bada-Boom!"
What followed was clearly the most one-sided digi-battle in recorded history. Even Calumon... a digimon who couldn't even conceive of harming a fly let alone going at it... threw a few poorly aimed play punches. None connected, but that didn't matter. Except for Jeri who kept out of the fray, everyone else made up for the little digimon's lack of combat prowess a hundred times over.
Ten minutes later and still mumbling, "Just youse wait until I get my breath back! I'll take youse all on! One at ah time or all at once! I don't care!" the battered purple troublemaker kept up a non-stop stream of threats as Guilmon dragged him out of the tunnel by little arrow-tipped tail with his big red one.
None of the group was under any delusion that he'd learn anything from this painful incident and mend his ways in the near future. He wouldn't be much of a villain if he actually learned anything moral from his mistakes, or learn much of anything for that matter.
At least, as far as evil digimon go, he barely qualified as a minor nuisance. Lee had been given detention for beating up bullies worse than Impmon. For Lee however, that was now less important than it had been a few days ago. He had betrayed his own sacred oath not to fight when not back into a corner, yet, he didn't feel like asking Sensei never to teach him again. But Lee didn't know if that was related to the infection, or himself.
"I'm so glad to be out of there." A much more out spoken than before Jeri thought out load as she re-arranged the bandages covering her numerous cuts and bruises. Calumon, now tagging along on her shoulder, was looking empathetically at the injuries covering her arms and legs. The scabs on her chest invisible under Lee's vest and shirt.
Looking into his troubled eyes, Jeri found it hard to imagine that this tiny defenseless cream puff could be the same digimon that'd scared her out of her wits only a few weeks ago.
"Me, too." Terriermon responded to Jeri's statement.
"Me, three." Lee concurred a second later.
"Us, five." Kazu and Kenta chimed in.
"We, seven." The dinos added at the end.
Even though full sunrise was several hours old, the sky overhead was not much brighter than the tunnel behind them. This stunned the ever observant Lee who knew the sky had been clear as crystal before they enter the tunnel's maul.
Thick black clouds now hid even a hint of the Sun's location. Still, compared to the claustrophobic near pitch-black conditions they'd just endured, it might as well have been high noon.
"Must be some really nasty weather coming," Jeri observed pointing a claw-tipped finger straight up.
Lee went into strategic mode. "Good. People will stay inside. That means they'll be less of a chance of others getting infected."
Calumon asked off handily. "Do you think we should've left Impmon back there, Lee?"
Terriermon smiled. "We can't do that. The rats might complain."
"Ha Ha! Very funny!" Impmon replied sarcastically as Guilmon lifted him completely off the ground by their tails.
"Besides," Terriermon added while laughing. "I'm sure he won't mind HANGING around with us for a bit longer!"
Proving the non-fictional reality of his existence, Impmon's instantaneous response was a lung-emptying barrage of foul language no kiddies' cartoon-show character would ever be permitted to use. -And likely be translated into some bad Brooklyn cabie jabber.- Jeri, her own face growing redder by the second, barely managed to cover Calumon's huge ears before he heard more the first few syllables.
'Mental note to myself,' Jeri mused silently as she waited for Impmon to run out of steam. 'Find a big bar of soap. Clean out that filthy mouth at first opportunity. And then... '
Her plan making was suddenly interrupted when Calumon gave out a new loud fearful whimper. -Since had Calumon become so suddenly subject to moments of fear?- Spinning him around in her hands, she found his eyes frozen wide-open in absolute panic and pointing a tiny limb at a tall distant building.
At that very instant it struck her... it struck all of them.
Danger. Extreme danger. 'You're about to die horribly' kind.
On a scale of one to a hundred, Impmon hardly rated more than a zero point zero zero one on the 'things to avoid' meter. A comical nuisance who's presence in the past had only served to bring a moment of levity during many otherwise overwhelming tense situations.
There was nothing funny about the building Calumon, and a few humans around town, were pointing at.
Buttressed on both sides by a pair of even taller towers, which were actually using the smaller building as their foundation, the upper floors of this modern glass and steel structure appeared to be glowing red-hot and only seconds away from, from . . . the new digimon had no clue what 'it' was, only that 'it' wasn't a good thing.
Looking practically close enough to touch the spires, a swirling cloud of glowing red and orange clouds circled just above the roof. Almost continuous thunder-less lighting strikes jumped between the cloud and both towers.
The hypnotizing image was suddenly taken away when Guilmon bumped into her. Traveling in a straight line with Terriermon, and Impmon following close behind, the trio of digimon were walking dazed and drunken towards the building. -What did sharks do when they smiled too much blood in the water?- Calumon only looked on in fear.
"Get back here, Guilmon!" Jeri screamed. The red-scaled digimon ignored her. "Terriermon! Impmon! Stop!" None gave any sign of having heard her.
Like iron filings to a magnet, they seemed unable to resist the unknown force attracting them, and only them, towards the building. Jeri could feel 'something', and, from the look in everyone else's eyes, she had to assume the other digivolved children felt it to, but that's all it was.
A feeling.
A bad feeling.
A growing worse by the second feeling.
Takatomon could attest to this in spades.
Normally, Guilmon and he were as inseparable as Siamese twins. Not now. Whatever hold that light-show had on the natural digimon, it was having an equally strong, but repellant, effect on him. He didn't need any of his new digital instincts to know that voluntarily approaching that disaster-in-the-making was, in a word, insane.
The difference in behavior was something the corrupt AI of the infections took note of and knew it would have to correct at a later date.
Frustrated by his inability to formulate a viable solution to the current situation, Takatomon yelled another word, "Leemon!"
In much the same way that Jeri had been awaken by Guilmon's unintentional collision; Takato's shout jars Lee back to the present. Mumbling an automatic 'stop calling me a Mon!' his eyes focused on the slowly departing digimon. Instantly accessing the gravity of the situation be shouts even louder.
"Takato grab Guilmon! Jeri grab Terriermon! Kenta and Kazu! Grab Impmon! Now!"
In a blur of superhuman speed and strength, Takatomon raced forward and lifted Guilmon off the ground. The digimon's clawed feet didn't miss a beat. The red-scaled digital dino was totally unaware of Takatomon's powerful bear hug and his sudden lack of forward progress.
A few seconds later, Terriermon, and Impmon are similarly restrained. They too were likewise oblivious to the presence of their captors.
"What now, Leemon?" Takatomon growled.
The children were close to panic. As one they turn and gazed down at Lee hopefully. Lee's response to their voiced and unvoiced requests for guidance was a rather predictable, "RUN!!"
As if a visual demonstration was necessary to get his point across, Lee raced away as fast as his diminutive legs and widely spread ears could carry him. Even burdened by Calumon and Terriermon's miniscule weight, and a late start, Jeri had no problem leaving him in her dust. With cat- like ease, she bounded down the same empty sidewalk that lead straight to Takato's home.
Even as they escaped, the natural digimon began to come out of their daze for whatever reason they did, but they were in no condition to move under their own power and had to rely on the others to get them to safety, if they had any idea what kind of disaster they had to worry about and what could protect them from it.
Only Kenta and Kazu remained behind. Even impeding doom couldn't keep the pair from finding something to bicker about.
"You take him!" Kenta yelled pushing the semi-conscious Impmon into Kazu sucker-tipped fingers.
"I don't want him! He's icky!" Kazu replied tossing the purple digimon back into the five large feathers the owl-like Kenta uses in lieu of fingers.
"Look who's talking! You're so slimy things stick to you!" Kenta answered angrily.
"I'd rather by sticky than icky! Take care of him yourself, Kenta."
"Whooo...?"
"Very funny. Don't give me that owl stuff. Do what comes naturally. Think of him as road-kill, birdbrain."
"Him? Yuck! Are you trying to poison me, Kazu?" Kenta replied in an offended tone.
If any evidence were needed to illustrate the insidious handiwork of the infection transforming the children into digimon, this example would take the cake. Not only had Kazu just suggested using a sentient being as food with a clear conscience; the only objection Kenta could offer to counter this cold-blooded solution to their problem... and in Kazu case, cold-blooded was a literal fact... was a personal dislike of said sentient being's personality.
"What's it gonna be then?" Kazu inquired while pointing a sucker-tipped eight-inch long thumb over his shoulder at the glowing building. You gonna carry or eat 'em? Or do we wait here until that thing blasts your feathers off?"
"Carry it is." Kenta squawked back as he took Impmon in his talons and leaped into the air. "But don't think I'm going to forget this wall-crawler. If I get a rash on my claws, I'm going to take it out of your scaly hide!"
Despite their late start, it didn't take the pair long to catch up to Lee, and just as rapidly, leave him behind. Lopmons, and Terriermons for that matter, simply aren't cut out for Track and Field events. Due to diminutive stature and spherical body design, both are more likely be mistaken for a ball than as participants in any kind of sport.
Lee almost wanted to kick himself when his body remembered he could use his ears to glide and move at much faster speeds. He did so a second later. It took them several minutes, the building still brooding all the same. They didn't encounter a single soul digital or otherwise. But remained at the back of the line.
Whether Takato's home would be far enough away to protect them when that building did whatever was anyone's guess.
Almost moaning at the strain he had put on his ears, Lee would have run right through the glass front doors if it wasn't already open and right into a blue mass of scales and muscle.
"There you are," a nearly sonic-boom loud female reptilian voice announces, "my hero." Lee would have fallen on his back from exertion if he hadn't been trapped in a cage of ivory-white talons a moment later by a blue t-rex. Lee could do nothing as another set of blue-scaled jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth hurled towards his face and planted a wet kiss on his skull.
For the record, it must be noted again that reptiles don't have waists or lips. As such, neither of Takato's dinosaurian parents, nor he himself, could actually kiss. Their dino equivalent of this particular human gesture is instead a gentle rubbing of jaws and a generous exchange of slobber.
The former nearly ended Lee's existence when a grateful, but over-enthusiastic peck to his forehead from Takato's mother's rock-hard jaws came close to crushing his head. The latter proved almost as hazardous when those same jaws opened wide and a blanket-sized tongue drenched him in saliva.
Looking more like drowned cat than a digimon, Lee could only smile weakly in return to the gesture doing his best to be polite; the smile vanished an instant later when the cause of their headlong flight hit his mind hard.
Lee screamed. "We have to take cover! It's going to explode!" He didn't know what was going to happen, but that was bound to get any adult's attention.
While Takato's father,Takehiromon, lowered Lee to the floor, Takato's mother, Miemon, asked. "What's going to explode, dear?"
"That building... that building with the two towers! It's going to . . . going to . . ." Lee replied running out of breath mid-sentence. More than his height had been reduced by the unknown infection of his digital transformation. He'd hated to admit it, but his current physical condition was pathetic. His little sister could rip him apart like a cheap plush toy without even trying. Then again, he seen Terriermon take digimon apart ten times his size.
"Go take a look, Honey." Takato's mother asked her mate taking Lee seriously from the emotion in his voice and the exhausted state the other kids including her precious and only child had been in when they had crashed through the door frame onto the floor who were all still catching their wind and wits, except for Takato who was in his mother's loving embrace pressed hard against her body, as if afraid he might vanish again if she let him go.
Not one to argue with his female, Takato's father removed his floured apron and used it to wipe the flour from his paws out of iron clad habit. Completely nude like his wife -which would give certain pathetic people mental images if reptiles didn't have it all internal-, he stomped across the wooden floor making the heavy planks tremble with each clawed footfall. Feeling not the least self-conscious about his unclothed body... few digimon except for the most human-looking one ever bothered ... he stuck his huge head and upper torso through the doorway.
"It's as ugly as ever." The t-rex raised a fore arm to his head to try and shade his eyes. "I still can't figure out why the government had to build that glass and metal monstrosity so large. Not that I'd mind, but it doesn't like it's going to blow up anytime soon."
Avoiding a slowly swinging tail that could break most of them in two at full speed, the children jammed themselves between Takato's father's muscular dinosaur body and the doorframe. None could believe their eyes.
It was gone all of it: the low-hanging circling clouds, the lightning flashes, the flickering colored lights bouncing between the two towers. Gone like someone had turned all of it off with the push of a button.
Unbeknownst to the children, and their digimon Partners, it'd taken an assortment of different fingers -and black or burning claws- frantically pressing buttons to avoid the apocalyptic destruction of Tokyo. The unknown person, or persons, responsible for pressing all those buttons was fated to remain a mystery for some time to come.
To Be Continued . . . Don't worry, I have 37K of text left to go through before we reach the end of this batch and I need to write more . . . wanna help? The link is in my bio . . . please?
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be honest, do I over do the bait and switch in this story?
In the original I had Impmon being left behind tied up-side down keeping the rats company inside the tunnel (all of them) much to his own panic but Charles decided to change it. Would that have been better?
Flames, comments, reactions, rants, love, hate, corrections, suggestions of all kinds, and occasional constructive criticism completely welcome.
Don't just say 'MORE!' those reviews leave me so empty.
Skip the four letter words, they make you look stupid, not me.
My e-mail is public, use that if you want to talk to me about a review -I- gave you. Do not abuse the review system.
First I thought after I got Light Sneasel's review (my personal go ahead signal) I'd get this chapter done by Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day, well, late as it is, here you go.
I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry. I just hope you people aren't losing interest in this story story just because of the surplus detail and extra long waiting time between chapters. I have so many stories that have waited over a year for me to work on. But I've chosen to focus on this one. Leaving the readers of those stories wanting. You can't please everyone I know, but it still doesn't make it pleasant.
Also, I went with the dubbed version of Terriermon's attack. Sorry.
Mistake on my part, Lee had started to wear his digi-vice on his ear a couple chapters back, it wasn't still in his pants, sorry.
Charles is unmatched when it comes to detail but cannon is totally my department and reading this story over again -man has it gotten long- I can see I haven't done that good a job. Sorry.
Conditioned reaction: Neon Genesis.
If I was to go back fix the bugs in the very first batch of chapters, would you people read them?
One problem with these chapter releases, you can go back and correct mistakes from before.
Do any of you people actually read these forewords?
After reading the old parts, I have to admit Reilly killing Trilly makes even less sense since she promised to share her winnings before hand with Reilly.
If we were to go back and alter the old chapters with a new coat of paint and better expression, would you read them again?
Chapter 8: "I must be her dad." Jeri thought. "It must be her dad." Jeri thought. Boy do I miss these things or what?
On a minor note a reviewer made a while back, he was right, I was wrong, Monodramon CAN walk on their back legs alone.
mad-man: read and find out.
Waynemon: This soon enough?
Gerjomarty: Think about the state of Calumon's forehead symbol and that might effect his cheerfulness. Rookies do not evolve to ultimates, guess again. Lee is just facing the fact you can't always chose not to fight. Takato became a guilmon because that's what he'd be if he was born a digimon. That's all I'll say. And by the way, I just want to say right now that I've your longer reviews, they make me smile.
nightdragon0: *giggles* You'll be surprised. And for Rika, I didn't think about that, but a good connection.
tremor3258: I agree totally and utterly, Guilmon IQ is not quite that bad in the anime, but like I said, I don't write every part. Like I said, I don't like messing with Charles' work as much as I should.
Black: Whenever Takato is fighting, he's along side Rika, when he's living the rest of his life, he's along side Jeri. Yes I do want to work more with Rika, but the other writers tend to leave her alone. When we begin writing again I'll be sure to write her again. I love longer review, so thank you.
Digimon Lantern 1: 1) I already have something in mind to snap Rika back to her senses, at least in part. 2) Heh. Don't we already know a Tamer from another reality? :-) 3) Sorry, way too cliché. 4) Well . . . I didn't think about that, and yes, she IS a Gatomon. 5) Rika couldn't care less about them. 6) Right now, the virus is only biological in nature. 7) Heh . . . you're so right about something but I won't say what. 8) Three times over you have no idea how right you're are. 9) Uh . . no . . Impmon fate lies somewhere else. No offence taken to doing it this way. I'm just sick of people doing a review just so they can yell at me that they didn't like I review I gave them.
Crow T R0bot : No frustration caused. I hate . . . OCs . . . Or rather, I hate the way they're used. nightdragon0's stories are the only time I've ever seen them used RIGHT. Takato doesn't know how Rika thinks. Ryo does. Actually, your theory is right on the money. I was wondering if anyone was going to pick that up.
Kara: Oh . . . you'll see . . . I just hope you guys don't all hate me TOO badly for this next part.
Light Sneasel: Your questions actually have one answer. It's okay. I'm losing my creative voice so I have no reason to debunk you. You're review is when I know to start fixing up the next part since you're my ultimate regular.
Offical names and spellings of many Tamer characters
Personal web site of the show's main producer:
It's now 2 AM PST here and I've been working on this non-stop since ten thirty so hope you all enjoy.
"MAGICAL BEAT!" - Opening of Ruin Explorers.
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Without hesitation or discussion, an unseen battle line was drawn across the twilight tunnel's width. In the center stood, Takato and Guilmon. The hell dragons could best defend the group at a distance, or, if the unknown threat somehow survived their fiery warm welcome, they had the best odds of prevailing in a claw-to-claw confrontation.
To Takato's right and Guilmon's left, Lee and Terriermon made ready to lend their guidance and support respectively. Their attacks may not have been anywhere near as powerful, or as long ranged, but anyone on the receiving end of their more precise Bunny Blast and Ice Pellets would definitely find the experience less than enjoyable.
High overhead, Kenta and Kazu prepared to drop down upon their unknown attacker, or attackers. Though misfits to the core of their beings, the pair had put away their argumentative and indecisive natures in the head of the moment. And neither was under any illusion. If it became necessary to sacrifice their lives, so be it. It would a small price to pay. The survival of their friends came first. Kids their age, especially laid back ones like the dynamic duo, should never had had to face unforgiving crossroads like this one, but they didn't have a choice. Even they wouldn't turn tale and leave their friends to face this alone. Maybe Kenta wasn't the only one who had been given a back bone by the change.
Only Jeri and Calumon stood slightly aside of the full morphs preparing to do battle. Her duty was clear: protect the defenseless Calumon and escape if it became necessary. Someone had to. All hope for finding a cure for the mysterious infection mutating the inhabitants of Tokyo might die if none of them survived.
Decidedly afraid, but not under it's command. They stood ready. To both face the enemy and support each other. United as one. Like friends.
Lee ordered. "Eyes front everyone! We don't know when it'll hit!" He never wanted the job of group leader but there was no one else. Takato was in no shape, the K boys were always followers, and after Jeri's angst attack last night Lee knew she had enough to deal with.
And like everyone else, she was completely focused on the tunnel's path ahead of them.
Two identical burning attacks streaked out of the darkness behind them, scoring a direct impact their intended targets: two wide red-scaled dinosaur posteriors.
Yelping in pain, Takatomon and Guilmon spun around returning "Pyro Sphere!"
Their fiery replies to the sneak attack was almost instantly joined by several "Ice Pellets" and "Bunny Blast"'s coming from Lee and Terriermon flying from their tiny island of light into the surrounding darkness. Kazu and Kenta in spite of their completed change had yet to learn how to launch their attacks, much like Jeri who had armed herself with a fist- sized rock Jeri had picked off the ground.
'It might not count for much against what's out there,' Jeri mused, 'but every bit counts. Right?'
No truer words had ever been thought.
In face, Jeri's attack couldn't do any worse, except for making more work for the repair crew that'd have to clean up the ruined walls, none of their digi-powered counter-attacks connected with their unknown, and now hysterically laughing, assailant -there was only one voice-. The digimon were too high on adrenaline to let the sick laugh phase them. Well hidden in the darkness beyond the reach of the tiny light bulb burning high overhead, their attacker felt safe from any retaliatory strike. The fact that its victims felt compelled, in upright and proper digimon manner, to announce their counter moves before launching only made them that easier to avoid.
"OUCH!!"
A rock thrown without any verbal warning whatsoever was simply unthinkable. Things like fireballs, lightning bolts, energy blasts, gusts of steel-hard air were perfectly normal and to be expected. Digimon could throw these, and many odder things, in combat: but a rock?
With the sudden death of the strange laughter Calumon demonstrated a child's microscopic attention span, when his terrorized whimpering suddenly switched to gleeful laughter. Whispering something so quietly that even Jeri enhanced hearing can't discern it, the little digimon wiggled out of her grasp and bounced into the darkness giggling.
Jeri yelled running close behind. "Calumon! Please come back!"
Without a word, the rest of the group broke ranks and followed as fast as they could. Not exactly the wisest course of action when dealing with an unknown threat, but a very, very human one when someone dear to their hearts, might be in imminent danger. Or would have if Calumon hadn't returned to the light a second later carrying their clearly larger enemy over his non- existent shoulders.
Terriermon's response, when he spotted the 'imminent danger' laying on the dirty tunnel floor with a goose-egg sized lump on his forehead, was a rather predictable, "Aw... crud! It's just that dork Impmon messing around in the dark." Larger when compared to Calumon. The bunny/dog gave the little devil a weak kick. "And I had a great boss battle back ground song going on in my head too!"
Dazed and only semi-conscious, the little purple demon digital monster responded to the depreciating remark by reflex alone.
"Hey! I'm an evil digimon of the night! I haunt the darkness!"
"Yeah, and I can see why." Lee observed sarcastically. "The less people see of you, the better. You're more Bozo than Beelzebub."
"Watch it, bunny!"
"That's... Mr. Bunny to you!"
"Just who is this guy with the over sized mouth?" Kazu asked landing from the ceiling starting everyone and delaying Impmon's conditioned instant insult reaction.
Lee recovered before Impmon. "Oh that's right you guys haven't met before. Impmon: the K-boys Kenta, and Kazu. Kenta, Kazu: Impmon. The most substandard evil digimon in the world."
Landing with a flap of his wings, Kenta clicked. "You sure he's not an escaped character from NiGHTS?" Kenta had loved that game.
"You mean." Calumon asked in a hurt tone. "It was you who scared us, Impmon?"
"Of course! And you were stupid enough to fall for it... dummy!"
"Kawaii!" Calumon's ears suddenly expanded to full size excited at the prospect of a new game. "How about you let me scare you next time?"
"Wha?! They'll be ice-skatin' competitions in digimon limbo before that happens!"
Lee, or rather the semi-dormant digimon portion of his altered personality, smirked mentally and tapped Impmon behind on the shoulder with one of his huge ears. When the pint-sized digital monster turned to look, he found the former human looking back at him innocently with his arms hanging limply by his sides. Terriermon needed no further prompting to get into the act. He lived for gags like this.
Bending over, the beige furred bunny-dog pushed Calumon within a inch of Impmon's spine after whispering instructions into one of his white ears. Nodding his acceptance to his role in the impromptu scheme, the little rotund digimon scrunched up his bland facial features, bugged out his immense eyeballs, and moved his ears foreword away from his face much like when Calumon had first meets Takato.
Grabbing the eggplant colored tail, Calumon gave it a strong yank while yelling, in the loudest and deepest voice his tiny lungs could produce. "BOO!"
Taken completely by surprise, it was a wonder Impmon's head didn't hit the ceiling. Instead, the purple hued digital demon spun around to find Calumon's distorted face only a fraction of an inch from his nose.
Falling back onto his rear in shock, Impmon's 'brow' twitched in anger.
"Youse . . . youse . . ."
"Do you need some dry underwear?" Terriermon teased.
"Thad's it!" Impmon roared. "Pa-pare for yer end! Bada-Boom!"
What followed was clearly the most one-sided digi-battle in recorded history. Even Calumon... a digimon who couldn't even conceive of harming a fly let alone going at it... threw a few poorly aimed play punches. None connected, but that didn't matter. Except for Jeri who kept out of the fray, everyone else made up for the little digimon's lack of combat prowess a hundred times over.
Ten minutes later and still mumbling, "Just youse wait until I get my breath back! I'll take youse all on! One at ah time or all at once! I don't care!" the battered purple troublemaker kept up a non-stop stream of threats as Guilmon dragged him out of the tunnel by little arrow-tipped tail with his big red one.
None of the group was under any delusion that he'd learn anything from this painful incident and mend his ways in the near future. He wouldn't be much of a villain if he actually learned anything moral from his mistakes, or learn much of anything for that matter.
At least, as far as evil digimon go, he barely qualified as a minor nuisance. Lee had been given detention for beating up bullies worse than Impmon. For Lee however, that was now less important than it had been a few days ago. He had betrayed his own sacred oath not to fight when not back into a corner, yet, he didn't feel like asking Sensei never to teach him again. But Lee didn't know if that was related to the infection, or himself.
"I'm so glad to be out of there." A much more out spoken than before Jeri thought out load as she re-arranged the bandages covering her numerous cuts and bruises. Calumon, now tagging along on her shoulder, was looking empathetically at the injuries covering her arms and legs. The scabs on her chest invisible under Lee's vest and shirt.
Looking into his troubled eyes, Jeri found it hard to imagine that this tiny defenseless cream puff could be the same digimon that'd scared her out of her wits only a few weeks ago.
"Me, too." Terriermon responded to Jeri's statement.
"Me, three." Lee concurred a second later.
"Us, five." Kazu and Kenta chimed in.
"We, seven." The dinos added at the end.
Even though full sunrise was several hours old, the sky overhead was not much brighter than the tunnel behind them. This stunned the ever observant Lee who knew the sky had been clear as crystal before they enter the tunnel's maul.
Thick black clouds now hid even a hint of the Sun's location. Still, compared to the claustrophobic near pitch-black conditions they'd just endured, it might as well have been high noon.
"Must be some really nasty weather coming," Jeri observed pointing a claw-tipped finger straight up.
Lee went into strategic mode. "Good. People will stay inside. That means they'll be less of a chance of others getting infected."
Calumon asked off handily. "Do you think we should've left Impmon back there, Lee?"
Terriermon smiled. "We can't do that. The rats might complain."
"Ha Ha! Very funny!" Impmon replied sarcastically as Guilmon lifted him completely off the ground by their tails.
"Besides," Terriermon added while laughing. "I'm sure he won't mind HANGING around with us for a bit longer!"
Proving the non-fictional reality of his existence, Impmon's instantaneous response was a lung-emptying barrage of foul language no kiddies' cartoon-show character would ever be permitted to use. -And likely be translated into some bad Brooklyn cabie jabber.- Jeri, her own face growing redder by the second, barely managed to cover Calumon's huge ears before he heard more the first few syllables.
'Mental note to myself,' Jeri mused silently as she waited for Impmon to run out of steam. 'Find a big bar of soap. Clean out that filthy mouth at first opportunity. And then... '
Her plan making was suddenly interrupted when Calumon gave out a new loud fearful whimper. -Since had Calumon become so suddenly subject to moments of fear?- Spinning him around in her hands, she found his eyes frozen wide-open in absolute panic and pointing a tiny limb at a tall distant building.
At that very instant it struck her... it struck all of them.
Danger. Extreme danger. 'You're about to die horribly' kind.
On a scale of one to a hundred, Impmon hardly rated more than a zero point zero zero one on the 'things to avoid' meter. A comical nuisance who's presence in the past had only served to bring a moment of levity during many otherwise overwhelming tense situations.
There was nothing funny about the building Calumon, and a few humans around town, were pointing at.
Buttressed on both sides by a pair of even taller towers, which were actually using the smaller building as their foundation, the upper floors of this modern glass and steel structure appeared to be glowing red-hot and only seconds away from, from . . . the new digimon had no clue what 'it' was, only that 'it' wasn't a good thing.
Looking practically close enough to touch the spires, a swirling cloud of glowing red and orange clouds circled just above the roof. Almost continuous thunder-less lighting strikes jumped between the cloud and both towers.
The hypnotizing image was suddenly taken away when Guilmon bumped into her. Traveling in a straight line with Terriermon, and Impmon following close behind, the trio of digimon were walking dazed and drunken towards the building. -What did sharks do when they smiled too much blood in the water?- Calumon only looked on in fear.
"Get back here, Guilmon!" Jeri screamed. The red-scaled digimon ignored her. "Terriermon! Impmon! Stop!" None gave any sign of having heard her.
Like iron filings to a magnet, they seemed unable to resist the unknown force attracting them, and only them, towards the building. Jeri could feel 'something', and, from the look in everyone else's eyes, she had to assume the other digivolved children felt it to, but that's all it was.
A feeling.
A bad feeling.
A growing worse by the second feeling.
Takatomon could attest to this in spades.
Normally, Guilmon and he were as inseparable as Siamese twins. Not now. Whatever hold that light-show had on the natural digimon, it was having an equally strong, but repellant, effect on him. He didn't need any of his new digital instincts to know that voluntarily approaching that disaster-in-the-making was, in a word, insane.
The difference in behavior was something the corrupt AI of the infections took note of and knew it would have to correct at a later date.
Frustrated by his inability to formulate a viable solution to the current situation, Takatomon yelled another word, "Leemon!"
In much the same way that Jeri had been awaken by Guilmon's unintentional collision; Takato's shout jars Lee back to the present. Mumbling an automatic 'stop calling me a Mon!' his eyes focused on the slowly departing digimon. Instantly accessing the gravity of the situation be shouts even louder.
"Takato grab Guilmon! Jeri grab Terriermon! Kenta and Kazu! Grab Impmon! Now!"
In a blur of superhuman speed and strength, Takatomon raced forward and lifted Guilmon off the ground. The digimon's clawed feet didn't miss a beat. The red-scaled digital dino was totally unaware of Takatomon's powerful bear hug and his sudden lack of forward progress.
A few seconds later, Terriermon, and Impmon are similarly restrained. They too were likewise oblivious to the presence of their captors.
"What now, Leemon?" Takatomon growled.
The children were close to panic. As one they turn and gazed down at Lee hopefully. Lee's response to their voiced and unvoiced requests for guidance was a rather predictable, "RUN!!"
As if a visual demonstration was necessary to get his point across, Lee raced away as fast as his diminutive legs and widely spread ears could carry him. Even burdened by Calumon and Terriermon's miniscule weight, and a late start, Jeri had no problem leaving him in her dust. With cat- like ease, she bounded down the same empty sidewalk that lead straight to Takato's home.
Even as they escaped, the natural digimon began to come out of their daze for whatever reason they did, but they were in no condition to move under their own power and had to rely on the others to get them to safety, if they had any idea what kind of disaster they had to worry about and what could protect them from it.
Only Kenta and Kazu remained behind. Even impeding doom couldn't keep the pair from finding something to bicker about.
"You take him!" Kenta yelled pushing the semi-conscious Impmon into Kazu sucker-tipped fingers.
"I don't want him! He's icky!" Kazu replied tossing the purple digimon back into the five large feathers the owl-like Kenta uses in lieu of fingers.
"Look who's talking! You're so slimy things stick to you!" Kenta answered angrily.
"I'd rather by sticky than icky! Take care of him yourself, Kenta."
"Whooo...?"
"Very funny. Don't give me that owl stuff. Do what comes naturally. Think of him as road-kill, birdbrain."
"Him? Yuck! Are you trying to poison me, Kazu?" Kenta replied in an offended tone.
If any evidence were needed to illustrate the insidious handiwork of the infection transforming the children into digimon, this example would take the cake. Not only had Kazu just suggested using a sentient being as food with a clear conscience; the only objection Kenta could offer to counter this cold-blooded solution to their problem... and in Kazu case, cold-blooded was a literal fact... was a personal dislike of said sentient being's personality.
"What's it gonna be then?" Kazu inquired while pointing a sucker-tipped eight-inch long thumb over his shoulder at the glowing building. You gonna carry or eat 'em? Or do we wait here until that thing blasts your feathers off?"
"Carry it is." Kenta squawked back as he took Impmon in his talons and leaped into the air. "But don't think I'm going to forget this wall-crawler. If I get a rash on my claws, I'm going to take it out of your scaly hide!"
Despite their late start, it didn't take the pair long to catch up to Lee, and just as rapidly, leave him behind. Lopmons, and Terriermons for that matter, simply aren't cut out for Track and Field events. Due to diminutive stature and spherical body design, both are more likely be mistaken for a ball than as participants in any kind of sport.
Lee almost wanted to kick himself when his body remembered he could use his ears to glide and move at much faster speeds. He did so a second later. It took them several minutes, the building still brooding all the same. They didn't encounter a single soul digital or otherwise. But remained at the back of the line.
Whether Takato's home would be far enough away to protect them when that building did whatever was anyone's guess.
Almost moaning at the strain he had put on his ears, Lee would have run right through the glass front doors if it wasn't already open and right into a blue mass of scales and muscle.
"There you are," a nearly sonic-boom loud female reptilian voice announces, "my hero." Lee would have fallen on his back from exertion if he hadn't been trapped in a cage of ivory-white talons a moment later by a blue t-rex. Lee could do nothing as another set of blue-scaled jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth hurled towards his face and planted a wet kiss on his skull.
For the record, it must be noted again that reptiles don't have waists or lips. As such, neither of Takato's dinosaurian parents, nor he himself, could actually kiss. Their dino equivalent of this particular human gesture is instead a gentle rubbing of jaws and a generous exchange of slobber.
The former nearly ended Lee's existence when a grateful, but over-enthusiastic peck to his forehead from Takato's mother's rock-hard jaws came close to crushing his head. The latter proved almost as hazardous when those same jaws opened wide and a blanket-sized tongue drenched him in saliva.
Looking more like drowned cat than a digimon, Lee could only smile weakly in return to the gesture doing his best to be polite; the smile vanished an instant later when the cause of their headlong flight hit his mind hard.
Lee screamed. "We have to take cover! It's going to explode!" He didn't know what was going to happen, but that was bound to get any adult's attention.
While Takato's father,Takehiromon, lowered Lee to the floor, Takato's mother, Miemon, asked. "What's going to explode, dear?"
"That building... that building with the two towers! It's going to . . . going to . . ." Lee replied running out of breath mid-sentence. More than his height had been reduced by the unknown infection of his digital transformation. He'd hated to admit it, but his current physical condition was pathetic. His little sister could rip him apart like a cheap plush toy without even trying. Then again, he seen Terriermon take digimon apart ten times his size.
"Go take a look, Honey." Takato's mother asked her mate taking Lee seriously from the emotion in his voice and the exhausted state the other kids including her precious and only child had been in when they had crashed through the door frame onto the floor who were all still catching their wind and wits, except for Takato who was in his mother's loving embrace pressed hard against her body, as if afraid he might vanish again if she let him go.
Not one to argue with his female, Takato's father removed his floured apron and used it to wipe the flour from his paws out of iron clad habit. Completely nude like his wife -which would give certain pathetic people mental images if reptiles didn't have it all internal-, he stomped across the wooden floor making the heavy planks tremble with each clawed footfall. Feeling not the least self-conscious about his unclothed body... few digimon except for the most human-looking one ever bothered ... he stuck his huge head and upper torso through the doorway.
"It's as ugly as ever." The t-rex raised a fore arm to his head to try and shade his eyes. "I still can't figure out why the government had to build that glass and metal monstrosity so large. Not that I'd mind, but it doesn't like it's going to blow up anytime soon."
Avoiding a slowly swinging tail that could break most of them in two at full speed, the children jammed themselves between Takato's father's muscular dinosaur body and the doorframe. None could believe their eyes.
It was gone all of it: the low-hanging circling clouds, the lightning flashes, the flickering colored lights bouncing between the two towers. Gone like someone had turned all of it off with the push of a button.
Unbeknownst to the children, and their digimon Partners, it'd taken an assortment of different fingers -and black or burning claws- frantically pressing buttons to avoid the apocalyptic destruction of Tokyo. The unknown person, or persons, responsible for pressing all those buttons was fated to remain a mystery for some time to come.
To Be Continued . . . Don't worry, I have 37K of text left to go through before we reach the end of this batch and I need to write more . . . wanna help? The link is in my bio . . . please?
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Be honest, do I over do the bait and switch in this story?
In the original I had Impmon being left behind tied up-side down keeping the rats company inside the tunnel (all of them) much to his own panic but Charles decided to change it. Would that have been better?
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