Chapter 20: An Anger Fueled Attack
Paildramon soared through the Digital Sky, searching all around for the group of floating islands Examon's home resides in. Since the last visit, the archipelago has changed location, no longer being over the barren mountains dividing Honey Land from its neighbor Cyber Land.
"How do you know Examon?" Slayerdramon asked from inside the Xros Loader.
"He saved me one day from being mugged by some Goburimon, and ever since DarkKnightmon attacked, he's been keeping an eye on me." I responded.
"I see..."
It was half an hour before the floating isles were in sight. Paildramon flew inside the perimeter and landed on the center island. Using his hand, he gently placed me on the ground. Both Slayerdramon and Dorbickmon appeared out of the Xros Loader as Paildramon was stored inside. Slayerdramon stretched his arms and legs, as he took in a deep breath.
"Ahh...feels nice to take in the fresh air..." he sighed contently. The three of us walked into the forest path, heading towards the center of the island. Upon arrival, it was a surprise to see Examon there, waiting.
"You've arrived..." he muttered.
"I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner Examon..."
"It's alright. Shoutmon explained what happened when you were on your way here. That, and he left this for you."
Examon opened his palm, and showed us a small data chip, similar to a DigiMemory. He handed it to me, and I inserted it into the side of the Xros Loader. The screen lit up and a hologram appeared, replaying a video feed.
"Awesome! Shoutmon managed to find the video of Dorbickmon's battle with ZekeGreymon!"
"Yes, he also told me to tell you 'good luck'." Examon added, then turned his attention to Dorbickmon, who merely looked away.
"These next few months of training are crucial if you plan to succeed. And you acting alone won't help you win against ZekeGreymon." he told him. Dorbickmon merely walked away.
"What's his problem...?" Slayerdramon asked.
"Thank you, Examon..." I thanked him. He in turn, nodded, but our conversation didn't end there.
"Can I talk to you for a second...?"
We walked over to the cave entrance, and it was noticeable that Examon was confused. He kneeled down so I could look at him better.
"What is it...?" he asked.
"I'd like a favor..."
From out of the Xros Loader, the DigiCore that was the remnants of Chaosdramon came out.
"A DigiCore...?" he tilted his head.
"It's what remained after Chaosdramon was defeated, but I'm sure you knew that already. For some reason, I felt like it called out to me. Before he died, he sounded like he had regret. If it's not too much to ask, can you bring him back as a good digimon...?"
He grabbed the DigiCore from my hand, and examined it, noting the cracks it has on the surface.
"It's very damaged. Trying to repair it could take a few days."
"Take as much time as you need."
"Very well. I will see what I can do." he responded.
"Thank you..." He was surprised when I hugged him, but he merely placed his hand on me.
"...Carlos, was it?" he asked, being the first time he called me by my name, "During your training, be very patient with Dorbickmon. He favors training in solitude, and he's very serious when it comes to interrupting him in the middle of it, so be careful when you talk to him."
"I will Examon, thanks."
Walking over to Slayerdramon, he saw us walk off to go find the drake, while he went inside his home to work on the DigiCore. We found Dorbickmon near the mountain with the dragon head, and he was sitting down, meditating.
"There you are..." Slayerdramon muttered. Dorbickmon didn't open his eyes and ignored us.
"So what do we start with?" Slayerdramon asked, looking at me.
"Well, I guess it's mental exercises according to Dorbickmon..."
"Ok..."
Slayerdramon walked over, and joined Dorbickmon in meditation, sitting down and closing his eyes. While they were busy focusing their minds, I looked over the video Shoutmon sent. It had everything in it, from Kiriha and MetalGreymon first appearing to fight him, to ZekeGreymon impaling Dorbickmon through the stomach. For the whole day, it kept repeating over and over again, allowing me to analyze everything ZekeGreymon has to offer; his attacks and strengths, as well as trying to find any points he is vulnerable. That way, if the time comes to face off Kiriha, we'd at least have some knowledge of how they fight. The process took so long that it quickly turned dark, signaling the arrival of night. Dorbickmon rose to his feet, and walked over to a nearby tree, where he lied down and went to sleep. All the while Slayerdramon was still deeply focused.
"Hey...Slayerdramon."
The drake didn't answer, but I tried getting his attention once more.
"Slayerdramon...?"
"...hm...?" he opened his eyes, and looked around. "Wow. Time went by faster than I imagined..." he yawned deeply. The fact that he was surprised that time went by so quickly showed how focused he was.
"We should get some rest."
"Right..."
We walked over to another tree adjacent to Dorbickmon's a few yards away. Slayerdramon sat down, and set his back against the bark. I sat next to him, resting my head on his abdomen. He glanced down, and smiled at me before we both dozed off to sleep. Surprisingly, neither one of them snored that night. The following morning, Dorbickmon was already awake before us and training. He threw punches, as well as a kick or two. After a few minutes he turned toward a boulder he had placed in the center of the plain by using his Burning the Dragon technique to make it rise from the ground. I shook Slayerdramon's stomach to try to get him to wake up, but he merely placed his hand on it and continued sleeping. It took a pebble to the forehead for him to start waking up.
"Mmm...huh...?" he yawned as he stretched his arms.
"Good, you're awake..."
"Morning Carlos..." he rose to his feet, "Where's Dorbickmon?"
"Over there..." I pointed, "He already started before us..."
"Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!" Dorbickmon blasted the rock to smithereens with a burst of fire shot out of the cannons on his chest.
"I see..." Slayerdramon looked over at the debris.
"Come on, while he warms up, let's go find some food."
"Alright..." Slayerdramon nodded, and we headed off into the small forest, which resembled Dragon Land's, bearing the same red tulips and blue roses, as well as some yellow dandelions. We found a tree filled with containers of DigiNoir, as well as a few fruits and brought them back. Slayerdramon roasted them over a campfire and we ate in silence. As a sign of respect, Slayerdramon put some food for Dorbickmon a few yards away from us, and smiled slightly when he saw Dorbickmon walk over and start eating when he returned to his place. However I was too busy thinking of something else that bothered me. It was what happened when DarkKnightmon apprehended me. He talked about making me his experiment and as he stated, "Insert part of Dorbickmon's old data into my body." But so far nothing has happened to me out of the ordinary, just a simple headache that went away when Examon gave me the diamond, or the shards of diamond that hung around the necklace. Was DarkKnightmon bluffing?
"Hmm..."
"Something on your mind kid?" Slayerdramon asked as he devoured an apple in two bites.
"Yeah, but it isn't important right now..." I muttered, eating out of my container of DigiNoir.
"Alright then..." he responded as he shoved more fruit into his mouth, showing more of his rather uncouth eating habits. By the time we finished eating, Slayerdramon had eaten more than half of the entire food we brought from the forest, and rubbed his stomach contently.
"Ahh...so what's next for training?" he asked.
"Well, we need to improve Dorbickmon's strength."
"And how do we do that? He's already pretty strong."
"Simple. Slayerdramon, we challenge you to a battle!"
The request put a smirk on the drake's face, "I thought you'd never ask!"
I glanced over to Dorbickmon, who overheard the offer. By the look in his eyes, he didn't refuse, but he didn't look too happy about it either. The two walked towards opposite sides of the field, and Paildramon came out of the Xros Loader.
"Alright you two. This will be one match, and it'll be conducted according to the tournament regulations. If either one of you is knocked out for more than three minutes, then the other shall be the winner. Paildramon will act as the arbitrator to make sure neither of you tries to kill each other, understand?"
Slayerdramon nodded in agreement, but Dorbickmon kept his attention towards his opponent.
"We'll see whether or not you're wasting my time..." Dorbickmon muttered.
"Yes, we will." Slayerdramon smirked at him. Paildramon stepped in between the two.
"Very well, both of you ready yourselves." he advised them. Slayerdramon grabbed his Fragarach, letting it activate as the blade separated into its fragments held together from the energy coursing through it. Dorbickmon got into a battle stance, and the two stared each other down.
"Begin!" Paildramon jumped away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"Shoryūzanpa!" Slayerdramon made the first move by sending an energy wave in Dorbickmon's direction through the swing of his sword. Dorbickmon avoided it by jumping in the air.
"Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!"
Slayerdramon quickly countered by sending two more energy waves to collide with Dorbickmon's attack, creating an explosion. Out of the smoke, Dorbickmon appeared and went for a blow to Slayerdramon's face. The digimon jumped back to avoid getting hit and in turn Dorbickmon hit the ground with his fist, shaking the field. Slayerdramon sprinted towards him and attacked with a vertical swing, but Dorbickmon moved to the side. Slayerdramon quickly followed up with a horizontal swing towards Dorbickmon's neck, but it was again avoided. However he used the momentum to swing around and attack with another horizontal swing to Dorbickmon's legs. The latter jumped back to avoid it, and with a flash of his eye made four pieces of stone come out from the ground, surrounding Slayerdramon. They attempted to crush him, but Slayerdramon jumped in the air to avoid it. However Dorbickmon made two others appear and shot them into the air, heading for the digimon. Slayerdramon used Shoryūzanpa to cut through them and when he landed on the floor, sprinted at Dorbickmon firing wave after wave of energy as he approached the dragon. Dorbickmon avoided his assault and the two exchanged blows to the face.
Slayerdramon stumbled back, but Dorbickmon managed to withstand the attack and hit Slayerdramon in the gut, following it up with a few blows to the face until he kicked the digimon away. Slayerdramon rose to his feet slowly, grabbing his Fragarach, and rushed at Dorbickmon again.
"Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!" the dragon roared. Slayerdramon avoided his attack, and wrapped his blade around Dorbickmon, surprising him.
"What?!"
The dragon tried to get out of the blade, but was gripped tightly. Slayerdramon used all of his energy and lifted his sword with both hands, with Dorbickmon still caught in the blade. Since he had finished eating, his moves were a bit sluggish and he cringed because of a cramp, but he started slamming Dorbickmon on the ground repeatedly. Dorbickmon struggled to break free but was caught in the sword's trap, as he was continuously slammed to the ground. After hurling him ten times to the ground, Slayerdramon's arms let go of his blade due to his exhaustion, and because he felt the cramp in his biceps. Dorbickmon's weight was already too much for him to lift, and his arms lacked the muscle to use that technique so carelessly again. Dorbickmon took the opportunity to trap his lower body in the earth.
"Dragon Breath Tonic Fire!"
Dorbickmon's attack hit dead on, and Slayerdramon yelled in pain. When the smoke faded, the explosion freed Slayerdramon from his prison, but left him fatigued. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and charged at Dorbickmon again, who summoned his blade of flames from his mouth.
"Tenryūzanha!"
Slayerdramon swung his sword vertically, but Dorbickmon blocked it. The two engaged in a battle of swords, neither one of them giving an inch of breathing room. With every swing of their swords, both could read each others moves and provide a successful defensive move. They separated after a few minutes, and Dorbickmon attacked.
"Tyrant Collbrande!"
Slayerdramon was about to defend himself when he felt his legs get trapped in the ground by Dorbickmon's Burning the Dragon technique.
"What?!"
Dorbickmon's other attack hit dead on, causing Slayerdramon to yell in pain. Dorbickmon then shrunk his sword's flame to a miniscule size, and he summoned a blade, smaller than his palm, and transferred the energy into it, causing the other sword to disappear. He placed it in his palm and clenched his fist. The flame in the blade released itself, engulfing Dorbickmon's entire fist as he rushed at the dazed Slayerdramon. With a flash of his eye, he freed Slayerdramon from the earth and using all his rage worked up, hit the digimon with an uppercut to his chin, knocking him into the air. Slayerdramon landed on his feet, stumbling back, but nevertheless, fell back unconscious. After three minutes, Slayerdramon was still motionless on the floor, and it was official.
"And that's the end of it." I responded, "Nice work Dorbickmon."
The digimon merely dropped his weapon, which was reduced to nothing now that it wasn't fueled with energy, and walked away. He could at least take the compliment for once. Paildramon walked over and checked Slayerdramon's pulse. With a slow nod, he gave the signal that Slayerdramon was going to be ok, and lifted the unconscious drake up to his feet. We walked him over to a nearby tree and sat him down against it. Paildramon went back inside the Xros Loader as he watched me start replaying the video feed Shoutmon sent again. Slayerdramon stayed unconscious for the rest of the day, and I waited for him to wake up, sitting against his stomach. Night fell, and he started showing signs of recovery.
"Urgh..." he groaned.
"Slayerdramon...?"
"...huh...?"
"Oh good, you're awake."
"Yeah...urgh my head..." Slayerdramon placed his hand on his head as he sat with his legs crossed.
"Dorbickmon really did a number on you with that attack."
"You have no idea...my head is still ringing..." he groaned in pain.
"Here, have some DigiNoir."
Slayerdramon took the container, opened it and devoured the food in less than a minute.
"Mmm...that hit the spot..." he sighed contently, placing his hand on his stomach.
"Come on, it's late. We need to rest." he heard me tell him. He nodded and sat back against the tree, stretching his legs. He watched me rest my head against his gut, and he smiled. In less than ten minutes, Slayerdramon was out like a log, while I was still awake, without any sign of sleep. It was the thought of DarkKnightmon that wandered through my mind. The past few days felt like they were going too smoothly, and those three months without any sign of DarkKnightmon around were a little too peaceful. Chaosdramon wasn't associated with him, otherwise it would've been obvious. The thought of what he did to me back then circled around my mind, but it was better to forget it for now. Joining Slayerdramon in napping, he was already snoring up a storm. The next morning, we woke up later than normal. Slayerdramon yawned deeply, and went back to sleep when I tried waking him up. Letting him snore away for five minutes, water was poured on his head to wake him up, and although he was grumpy, we went to find Dorbickmon. He was over at the mountain as usual, and was already training without us.
"Morning Dorbickmon." Slayerdramon told him, but the drake didn't answer, causing the digimon to frown.
"You know, you could at least respond once in a while!" the dragon scolded. Once again Slayerdramon was ignored, and it was probably the lack of sleep, but Slayerdramon actually stepped in front of Dorbickmon, stopping his training.
"...move." Dorbickmon growled. It was as Examon told me. He was very serious when someone interrupted him in the middle of training.
"No." Slayerdramon huffed, angering Dorbickmon, who walked off. Slayerdramon however, stepped in front of him, stopping him again.
"You're not getting rid of me this time." Slayerdramon growled, "I understand you've faced problems in the past, but that doesn't mean you have to ignore everyone around you!"
"Quit wasting my time..." Dorbickmon warned him.
"At least have the decency to talk to us, you stubborn drake!" Slayerdramon barked, infuriating Dorbickmon.
"What?!"
"You heard me!"
At this point, Paildramon and I intervened. He pulled both of them away from each other.
"Slayerdramon, calm down." he heard me tell him. He glared at Dorbickmon, and stepped back, giving a huff.
"Coward..." Dorbickmon insulted him.
"Dorbickmon, he has some point. You have to start working with me as a team."
"I don't need either of you to help me."
"If that was true, then you wouldn't have struggled against DarkKnightmon, Chaosdramon or ShadowDorbickmon."
"Grr...! None of that would've happened if it wasn't for you!" he barked.
"If it wasn't for me?!"
"Dorbickmon, it wasn't his fault!" Slayerdramon retorted.
"QUIET! You know nothing of what's happened! If it wasn't for this brat, as well as that damned Shoutmon, then DarkKnightmon would've still been in hiding, and I'd be peacefully alone in solitude! My castle would've also still been intact, instead of being blown to rubble by Chaosdramon along with the rest of the place, and he was brought into my home because this brat invited that Dorumon inside! He's to blame for everything that's happened!" Dorbickmon roared and stormed off. Slayerdramon looked at me.
"Don't believe anything he said. It's not your fault these events have occurred."
However, something resonated deep inside. An immense feeling started boiling up inside me, as the sound of my heart beating intensified. The pain in my head returned, only much worse. Slayerdramon noticed the sudden pain, but was surprised it was also influencing Paildramon.
"What's wrong...?" he asked. All feelings inside started vanishing, but only a few remained and were increasing. Incense, wrath and vengeance swirled inside, releasing themselves in the form of heat. Slayerdramon noticed small trails of smoke emanating, but it wasn't natural smoke, it was made of data.
"What the...?"
That moment, those emotions inside exploded, "DORBICKMON!"
Paildramon flew at him at a blistering speed, and before he could turn, Paildramon landed a strong blow to his face, knocking Dorbickmon into the mountain.
"Paildramon!" Slayerdramon exclaimed. The digimon turned back, and Slayerdramon noticed his eyes were completely red, without irises, as if he was being controlled. Dorbickmon rose to his feet again, but before he could attack, Paildramon pinned him against the wall, choking him by the neck.
"Grah...!" Dorbickmon gasped. As he struggled to breath, he was approached by me.
"Y-you...!" he choked, and noticed something that shocked him. In those eyes, he saw his own purple irises, glaring at him.
"H...how...?!"
When he was answered, he and Slayerdramon were shocked to hear Dorbickmon's own voice inside mine.
"Anger kept inside has a tipping point...and you just crossed it..."
"Carlos?!" Slayerdramon exclaimed, and was answered with a glare, before the attention was turned back to Dorbickmon.
"Hmph...you blame everything on me, because you're too pathetic to admit your own faults. DarkKnightmon knew it, and that's why he was able to toss you around like a chew toy..."
Dorbickmon tried to attack, but Paildramon choked him even further.
"We'll see how you enjoy drowning in water." I growled. Paildramon punched Dorbickmon in the gut, and dragged him over to the lake, submerging him and keeping him pinned down by the head. Dorbickmon struggled, trying to grab Paildramon and free himself, but he couldn't reach, and was swallowing water rapidly. Slayerdramon ran over, grabbing a hold of me.
"Hey! Snap out of it!" he called out, "What's wrong with you?!"
"Don't bother...you won't stop this..."
Slayerdramon felt the smoke actually burning him, as he took his hands away, but he didn't stop.
"You have to snap out of it! Remember who you are! What you wanted to do was help Dorbickmon!"
When he tried to grab me again, Paildramon ran over and gave him a strong uppercut, knocking him into a bush of violet tipped thorns that dug into his scales.
"Gah!" the dragon yelled. Paildramon then returned to Dorbickmon, who was climbing out of the water, gasping for air as he coughed up water, and kicked the dragon back inside, continuing to drown him. Slayerdramon cringed as he rose to his feet, walking back in another attempt to reason.
"Snap out of it! He's your friend, and you know that! You have to be patient with him!"
Those words triggered something inside, as he noticed the diamond start glowing, releasing a bright light.
"Guh...! W...what's going on...?! Where am I...?"
All feelings of anger started dying down, as the headache returned. Paildramon held his head, letting go of Dorbickmon, who rose to the surface, unconscious after swallowing too much water.
"That's it, fight what's controlling you!" Slayerdramon shouted. The diamond's light grew brighter, and when it faded, Paildramon fell to the floor unconscious, and I followed.
"Carlos!"
Slayerdramon ran over, and checked to make sure we were alright, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thank god, he just has a few burns to his body..."
The drake quickly ran over to Dorbickmon, pulling him out of the water.
"Come on, wake up you stubborn drake..."
He shook Dorbickmon, but the dragon didn't respond. After trying to smack him awake, Slayerdramon struck a blow to Dorbickmon's stomach, causing him to cough out water. Slayerdramon lifted him up, and tilted Dorbickmon's head away from him, as the dragon vomited a lot of water.
"Just a little more ought to do it..."
After coughing up the equivalent of a puddle of water, Slayerdramon checked Dorbickmon's pulse and felt his heart beat slowly.
"Good..." he sighed, "I should take them to Examon, he should be able to figure out what happened..."
The digimon stored Paildramon in the Xros Loader, then grabbed both of us and walked off toward the cave. Examon was busy working on Chaosdramon's DigiCore, slowly inserting data to repair it but not so fast that it would cause it to overload. Slayerdramon walked in.
"Examon."
The knight looked over, and when he saw Slayerdramon carrying Dorbickmon unconscious, he knew something was wrong.
"What happened?" the dragon asked.
Slayerdramon tried to explain the best he could, but he himself was also confused. He mentioned the sudden burst of anger, followed by Paildramon running amok and nearly killing Dorbickmon.
"...I see." Examon glanced over.
"What's wrong with him?" Slayerdramon asked. The knight stayed silent, and gave Slayerdramon a serious look.
"...I assume the boy told you of what happened with DarkKnightmon?"
"Somewhat, yes..."
"Then I'll cut to the point. I think his sudden outburst of anger was caused by the data DarkKnightmon inserted into him. It tapped into the reserves of anger he's kept inside from any problems he's faced in his life that he chose to ignore instead of acting blindly. As for why his eyes changed into Dorbickmon's and his voice resonating withing the boy, it's because the data he used was back when Dorbickmon was a Death General. Only it's the half he didn't use when he created the Shadow Virus. ShadowDorbickmon was merely the body and power of Dorbickmon. That's why he fought with no remorse and relished in every moment he beat you. However Carlos contains Dorbickmon's old self, a part of his old spirit as well as his mind. What the effects of this will do to him are unknown right now, but this will give me something to research on."
"...I see, but then why was Paildramon affected as well?" Slayerdramon asked again.
"It's because of the bond they share. Although he's been with Dorbickmon for a longer time, he's spent much more time with Paildramon, so they have developed a bond, unlike with Dorbickmon, who still refuses to accept the boy. And since Paildramon's bond with him was stronger, he was affected by the anger, running amok."
"I see..." Slayerdramon nodded in understanding. Examon removed the shards that remained of the diamond he had given from the necklace.
"That's why I gave him this jewel. It has my data to counteract the corrupt fragment inside. However, it looks like it lost a lot of its power when it broke. I'll have to reforge it and make it stronger." he glanced over to Slayerdramon, "I'll keep them here, you get some rest."
"Ok..."
Slayerdramon walked outside, heading towards the field. However, halfway there he started feeling dizzy.
"Urgh..."
He stopped in his tracks, and put his hand on his head. The digimon felt his own temperature rising, and started feeling nauseous.
"Urp..." he promptly threw up on the floor.
"Urgh...I think I caught something..." he muttered, right before he threw up again.
"I need...to go find a doctor..."
He grabbed a nearby stick and used it to write a message for the others to find. The dragon left the island by jumping down to the smaller islands below. Luckily for him the archipelago was hovering over the Airdramon mountains, which was the tallest mountain range in the Digital World, separating Gold Land from Canyon Land. It allowed Slayerdramon to jump off and land on the mountain, and start making his trek down towards the base, wrapping his cape around himself to keep warm from the sheer cold of the ice.