Chapter 25: Sora's Faith
Streets of Tokyo
2:01 P.M
Takato scrambled out of the building, Guilmon following right behind him. He turned in all directions, trying to locate Susumu Kamiya.
"Mr. Kamiya!" Takato screamed into the air. The sound echoed off the sides of the buildings and down the empty street.
"Takato!" Joe said sternly but quietly as he exited the building with Gomamon, Sora, and Kudamon. "You've got to be quiet. We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."
"Sorry." Takato lamented. "But how are we going to find him?"
"I can smell him!" Guilmon cheered, dropping his snout to the ground. He took a large sniff and then bolted down the sidewalk, following an invisible trail.
"Let's go!" Joe proclaimed, and the others followed after him.
Streets of Tokyo
2:03 P.M
Susumu scurried down the empty road, frantically looking around for any signs of life, wary of the Knightmon that had taken over the city. He followed the signs, heading back to Odaiba, hoping that Tai would have gone back there.
"I'm coming Tai…" He whispered to himself as he rushed down the middle of the deserted road. He rounded a corner, turning onto a new street. "I'll find you… I'll find you…" He spoke through heavy breaths, rushing down the street in a fervor, his eyes frantically darting to and fro, searching for any signs of life, desperate for any sign that could lead him to his son.
"Halt!" A voice bellowed into the air. Susumu stumbled to a stop. He quickly looked in all directions, searching for the source of the voice, afraid he'd been spotted by one of the patrolling Digimon in service to the Devas. "Get in line!" the voice screamed again. This time, Susumu identified the source of the voice. It echoed from an alleyway to his left, a little ways down the street. He quietly jogged over to the alley and peered around the corner.
"Let's move!" A Knightmon bellowed from the opposite street down the alley. Though far away, Susumu could make out the large mass of people behind the Digimon, hands bound together, as they were led forward towards a containment facility. Susumu saw a young boy being forced to his feet by the Knightmon and thrown back into line. The boy had fallen over due to what Susumu could only guess was fatigue, and the monster had stopped the group he was with in order to throw the boy back onto his feet.
Susumu squeezed his fists in anger. He and his wife had been treated similarly at the hands of the Devas, dragged out of their apartment complex and forced to walk, hands chained, to the Odaiba convention center before being unshackled and released into a crowded and confined area. He pushed these memories aside. There was nothing he could do against the Digimon: they were too powerful for him to handle. All he could try to do was to find his son and make sure that he was safe.
"Mr. Kamiya…!" A voice hissed from behind him. Susumu quickly twisted his head back and saw Takato, Joe, and Sora come upon him with their Digimon partners in tow. The large red one, Guilmon, had his nose to the ground and was following the path Susumu had taken. "Why did you run away like that?" Takato inquired angrily as the group rejoined him. "It's too dangerous for you to be out here without a partner."
"I couldn't just let you kids go around and do everything for me. I have to find my son!" Susumu said sternly, his voice echoing in the empty street. Joe put a finger to his lips to signal silence, looking around the corner at the convoy that Susumu had been spying on.
"Please, you have to trust us." Joe pleaded. "We're the only ones who have the experience to handle this situation. I know it must be hard for you, but you've gotta believe that we Digidestined know what we're doing. You're son isn't just one of us, he's our leader, and he's gotten us through some really difficult times."
"Uh, guys," Sora gained the others' attention as she spied down the alley towards the convoy on the other street. "Do you feel that vibrating?" Sora was right. A weak tremor had just shaken the earth beneath their feet, defined but almost unnoticeable.
"There's a Digimon close by." Guilmon growled, his eyes narrowing as he sniffed into the air. "It's a big one."
"It must be another Deva." Kudamon speculated. "I'll climb up top and check it out." Kudamon leapt off of Sora's shoulder and onto the wall of the building, quickly climbing up the façade until he reached the roof a few stories up.
"It's getting closer." Gomamon whined as they felt the earth shake again, this time stronger than before. Another second passed and the ground shook again, this time forcing the group to steady themselves. Another second passed and the ground shook so violently that Takato slipped and fell. Sora grabbed out and caught the boy's shirt, stopping him from hitting the ground.
"Thanks Sora." Takato smiled at the girl. As he did, Kudamon suddenly fell from the top of the building, landing on Sora's shoulder. Surprised, she let go of her grip on Takato, and he fell flat on his face with an "Ooph!"
"What was it?" Sora inquired, oblivious to the boy she had just dropped onto the ground, who was wiping the dirt off his face.
"It's huge." Kudamon warned. "I'm not sure what Digimon it is, but it's definitely one of those Devas, some sort of multi-headed… snake thing." Kudamon was at a loss for words to describe what he had just seen. "And it's close by, at the rear of that convoy."
"I see it." Joe stared sternly down the alleyway as a pair of enormous metallic snake heads slithered down the street. It was quickly followed by four more metallic serpents and one black one, all suspended in the air far above the three story building they hid behind, supported by the previous two snakes that had just passed. The large mass of serpent heads passed by the alley and was followed by a winding black tail.
"He's a big Deva…" Guilmon gazed at the serpent as it disappeared from view.
"Yeah, most of them are." Gomamon winced as he spoke.
"We have to save those people." Takato said intently.
"Hold on now Takato, we don't know if we can handle that group." Joe argued. "First of all, we don't know how many Knightmon there are, and depending on how strong that Deva is we could get slaughtered out there."
"Come on," Takato rolled his eyes, "that Deva doesn't stand a chance against Zudomon, and WarGrowlmon's getting stronger by the minute. He can handle those Knightmon now, I'm sure of it."
"I wouldn't be so sure Takato." Gomamon replied. "The first Deva I fought, Minotarumon, he was pretty easy. But the Hisyarumon that I fought after him kicked my ass. He did catch me off guard though."
"Agh!" A high pitched squeal from the adjacent street caught the attention of the group.
"Someone's in trouble!" Takato exclaimed. "We have to help them! Let's go Guilmon!" Takato bolted down the alleyway.
"Alright Takatomon!" Guilmon cheered and chased after him.
"Takato stop- oh, why do I bother?" Joe's face fell into his palm. "Mr. Kamiya, please go back and find the others." He pleaded with Susumu.
"I'll do no such thing." Susumu barked. "I'm finding my son."
"Fine, then at least stay close to us, please."
"Er, very well." Susumu reluctantly agreed.
"Good, then Sora, let's go, before Takato gets himself into trouble." Joe started down the alley, with Gomamon close at his heels.
"It's probably too late for that." Sora retorted as she followed Joe with Kudamon on her shoulder. Susumu then turned down the alley to follow them.
Digital Gate
2:09 P.M
Karatenmon stood atop the skyscraper, looking down at the smaller building below. The humanoid bird crouched at the edge of the roof, his black wings neatly folded against his back. The sun glistened off his purple armor: his chest piece, helmet, and gauntlets, while the breeze fluttered the tan cloth he had belted around his waist. As he stared intently, he gripped the sheathed golden swords he wielded tightly.
His gaze was fixed on the building that housed the portal to the digital world that he and the other Devas had used to come to the digital world not long ago. He had been sent by his leader MetalEtemon to the gate to investigate why the last Deva, Cerberumon, had not arrived from the digital world to aid in their conquest of Tokyo. The absence of Cerberumon was concerning. There had been no communication from Cerberumon regarding the orders he had been given.
With the loss of the Devas Minotarumon, Hisyarumon, and most recently SkullSatamon, their numbers had dwindled. They had already lost a number of members in the power struggle that made MetalEtemon the leader of the group, and now they were down to five: their leader MetalEtemon, his partner SkullMammothmon, Orochimon, Cerberumon, and himself. Cerberumon had remained in the digital world to manage the affairs there, however with the loss of the other three Devas he had been called to help.
Karatenmon watched as a young boy stepped out of the building, followed by a Coronamon. He could only assume that these were the individuals that were preventing the successful communication with and arrival of Cerberumon. He concluded that these were some of the Digidestined that had caused so many problems for the digital world, the reason he and his brethren were now in Tokyo. He quietly unsheathed his blades, and positioned himself to attack. He would obliterate this threat quickly, secure the building, and bring Cerberumon into the human world.
2:10 P.M
Iori sat cross legged in the corner, his head drooping. For the past few minutes Izzy and Kairo had argued in technical jargon that he had a hard time comprehending. Coronamon lay in his lap, bored to tears.
"I don't understand this," Kairo complained, "I've shut down the safety protocols that keep it from closing when something's coming through, but it's still not shutting down. It's as if there's more coming from the other side that's keeping this thing open besides the data stream, like there's something jacked into my machine to keep it from shutting off."
"The Devas must have done something to it in order to make sure their power source wasn't cut off." Izzy speculated. "It doesn't look like the machine's been tampered with, so there must be a connection to the software from that side that's keeping it locked in."
"Can we go to the other side and figure out how to shut it down from there?" Jeri asked.
"Afraid not," Izzy answered, "The gate only allows information to flow from one side at a time."
"This sheet of plasma isn't an open doorway," Kairo continued for Izzy, "It's the output end of the information highway that translates the input from the other side and gives it form in our world. There's no doorway here, it's more like the end of a water slide. The input from the top flows down to the bottom, pouring information like water into the pool on the other side, but doesn't allow any way for the water to go back up the slide."
"Furthermore the barrier here is made of highly charged particles that are constantly in motion, producing output by taking materials from near its surface." Kairo explained. "It takes the particles in the air and uses them to convert whatever is coming from the other side that doesn't already have form in the human world. If you were to touch it, it would vaporize you and convert the particles in your body into the particles that make up the data stream."
"Oh dear…" Jeri gasped. "The gate that took us to the digital world doesn't work like that does it? They look so similar."
"Not exactly." Kairo answered. "It's a bit complicated, but basically any input into the portal remains intact, but if it doesn't have physicality in the human world then it doesn't have a body to utilize. The digital world is real by all means, but it exists in a different physical form then our world does. When we go there for the first time, our bodies become bonded to the particles that let that world exist, and when a Digimon comes to our world for the first time, it becomes bonded to particles that make our world exist: protons, electrons, and neutrons."
"So complicated…" Jeri said with intrigue.
"Iori!" Coronamon suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted into his partner's ear. "Follow me outside, I have something important to talk to you about!" Iori, stunned, let the lion Digimon pull him to his feet and led him outside.
"What's going on Coronamon?" Iori inquired.
"Nothing!" Coronamon cheered. "I just couldn't stand it in there anymore. Izzy and Kairo are so boring!"
"Damnit Coronamon," Iori sighed, "What they were saying was important."
"Importantly boring!" Coronamon said with jest.
"That doesn't even make any sense." Iori groaned.
"Do you feel that breeze?" Coronamon suddenly changed the subject.
"That's enough, I'm going back inside. I want to know what they're talking about-" Coronamon cut him off.
"Iori move!" Coronamon jumped off the ground and knocked him away from the doorway. They both slammed into the pavement, sending a sharp shooting pain through Iori's back. He was about to question his partner when suddenly a black blur crashed into the spot they had been standing in. Iori stared in awe at the humanoid black bird that held a pair of golden swords that had just effortlessly pierced through the pavement.
"Who the hell are you?" Iori demanded to know. But the monster didn't answer, or even give the Digidestined time to get up. He slid his swords out of the pavement as if it were butter, and slashed at Iori and Coronamon.
"Coronamon digivolve to… Firamon!" The champion lion appeared in a flash of light and Iori found himself perched onto his partner's back. Coronamon caught the blade with his teeth, and then using his powerful neck flung the bird man away. The monster flipped through the air and landed perfectly in the middle of the street, blades poised to strike.
"I'll ask again: who are you?!" Iori ordered an answer as Jeri, Lunamon, and Kari piled out of the building to investigate the noises outside.
"And why should I tell you?" The bird man snarled.
"You attacked us!" Firamon barked. "The least you can do is identify yourself!"
"Very well then," The monster finally spoke. "You were good enough to fend off my attacks, so I at least owe you the dignity of answering your questions. I am Karatenmon, one of the twelve Devas. I am third in command of the Knightmon army, displaced only by my masters SkullMammothmon and our glorious leader, MetalEtemon."
"You're the third strongest Deva?" Kari barked.
"My ranking is not a reflection of my strength but of my experience. However I am considered the strongest of the original Devas save for my former superiors, Makuramon and Vikaralamon."
"What happened to Makuramon?" Kari asked. "Why did you Devas betray us?"
"We were not the betrayers." Karatenmon growled. "We were the ones betrayed. Makuramon told us that in times of crisis we were to turn the destined key, which calls forth saviors from the human world. However in our roles as protectors of the pathways to and from the digital world we came across a Digimon the flowed in from the data streams. Upon learning of our identities he told us of our mistakes. He explained what the Digidestined had truly done to the digital world. Instead of saving it, they aligned with the dark forces and conspired to destroy us all. If it were not for the Royal Knights, you humans would have obliterated the digital world!"
"You've got it all wrong!" Jeri protested. "That Digimon lied to you. The Digidestined didn't go to your world to destroy it: they went to save it!"
"Do not question my master!" Karatenmon snarled. "Lord MetalEtemon has set us upon the true path to protecting the digital world. When a new crisis emerged in the form of yet more human children, he led us to find a way into the human world to deal with the Digidestined from here! His genius ideas will save the Digital world from the harmful hands of humans!"
"Etemon's been filling your heads with lies." Kari said sternly. "He's too wrapped up in his own hatred to understand what actually happened. The original Digidestined who were called to the digital world were brainwashed by Devimon. They couldn't control their own actions. And the group that came after, my group, helped to save both the original Digidestined from Devimon and the rest of the digital world!"
"Hmm…" Lunamon hummed, "What happened to your former superiors, Makuramon and that other guy?"
"When Etemon arrived, there was a power struggle amongst our group. Some of the Devas, including our leader Makuramon, were skeptical of Etemon's claims, and attempted to banish him off of our plane and back into the main digital world. Many of us rallied in favor of Etemon. We wanted to take a more active approach to defending our world, and Etemon gave us the opportunity. The battle decimated our numbers. We lost five Devas that day, and we were forced to imprison the remaining Devas that refused to follow our new leader, lord Etemon."
"Let me guess, they were Makuramon and Vikaralamon right?" Lunamon surmised.
"Along with Antylamon, the last straggling follower of Makuramon and Vikaralamon, yes. We imprisoned the three of them, replacing Makuramon with our new leader Etemon, and soon replaced Vikaralamon with Mammothmon and SkullSatamon."
"So Makuramon is still alive," Kari sighed with relief, "He's the one that turned the destined key isn't he?"
"Makuramon eluded capture for quite some time. He may or may not have turned the destined key before we were able to subdue him, which would explain the presence of these Digidestined that I have not heard of before." He eyed Iori and Jeri.
"We have one last question," Iori stepped forward, "What did you do to the portal to make it unable to close?"
"So that's what you're doing in there," Karatenmon scoffed, "You cannot close the portal. MetalEtemon personally adjusted your program so that it would not shut down unless he gives the order to the machine."
"Great," Firamon grumbled, "So we've got to defeat Etemon before we can even have a chance of closing that gate down. So much for having an easy way of defeating these guys."
"Kari," Iori turned to the older girl, "You should go inside and tell everyone what we've just learned. Also, I think story time is over, so you might want to clear out of here before things get hairy."
"You're probably right, unfortunately," She sighed, "Be careful you two."
"I've answered all of your questions." Karatenmon growled as Kari slipped back inside. "And I have no further interest in continuing this discussion. Now," He had been standing in a relaxed pose, and now re-positioned his swords, "Let us begin."
Streets of Tokyo
2:10 P.M
"Get up you stupid girl!" The Knightmon barked at a young girl, who had fallen out of line. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to her feet, forcing a squeal out of her.
"Please, we've been walking for hours." A man, her father, jumped out of line and caught the girl as the Knightmon tossed her away. "We're all so tired, we need a rest."
"Shut up and get back in line, both of you!" The Knightmon grabbed the man by his collar and shoved the two back into the line. The force of his throw caused them to crash into the people behind them, knocking over a larger group of people. "I said get up!" He unsheathed his sword.
"You all better keep moving." Orochimon hissed from the rear of the group. "Etemon only wants you all alive so he can make sure none of the Digidestined slip through his grasp. You are all expendable, and your lives hang by a thread. If you die we'll just leave your corpses here and collect them later. It's only convenient for us to let you live because it's faster than killing you all and dragging your bodies around."
"Agh!" The young girl jumped into her father's arms, squeezing his neck tightly, "Daddy I'm scared!"
"I said get up!" The Knightmon thrust his blade into the ground beneath the man's feet, causing the young girl to cry out in terror once again.
"Get away from her!" A voice bellowed. The Knightmon turned towards the noise and was caught off guard. A large metal claw tore through the air and into his chest, piercing the metal and tearing into the flesh underneath.
"Ugh…" The Knightmon groaned as he slumped onto WarGrowlmon's claw, then just as quickly as the blow had come his body burst into a mass of data and fluttered away.
"Let these people go!" WarGrowlmon and Takato, atop his back, demanded simultaneously, staring at Orochimon with widened eyes.
"It seems the Digidestined come to me, how perfect!" Orochimon hissed with glee. "Knightmon, get over here!" He ordered the hoard of Knightmon surrounding the group of a hundred people. The twenty or so Knightmon gathered towards the back of the line, where WarGrowlmon and Orochimon faced off, surrounding the Digidestined ultimate.
"I'm not scared of these guys!" WarGrowlmon glared at his opponents.
"Everybody run!" Sora appeared from an alley atop Reppamon. "Follow me, quickly!" The group wasted no time in following the girl's orders. The large group of people quickly ran away from the group of ultimates at their rear.
"Hey, get back here!" One of the Knightmon ordered the group, and attempted to chase after them. Zudomon then jumped in front of him and smashed the warrior with his hammer. The Knightmon's remains scattered away as data.
"WarGrowlmon don't stop, destroy as many Knightmon as you can!" Zudomon ordered, and swung his mighty hammer again, aiming for another Knightmon. This time however they were prepared, and the individual he had targeted braced himself and grabbed the hammer, stopping the strike. Zudomon wouldn't give him any time to recover, however. He immediately let go of his weapon and threw a fist at the unsuspecting Knightmon. The armored Digimon couldn't effectively block the strike and took the full force of the punch, which threw him into a building.
"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon turned towards the group of ultimates and fired a devastating blast from his gun ports. Most of his targets jumped out of the way or braced themselves against the blast, but one was trapped in the middle of the group and couldn't respond in time, taking the full force of the blast. His data faded away with the smoke from the aftermath.
"Keep moving, get as far away from here as possible!" Sora ordered as the group of people scrambled to get away from the battle behind them. Many started to break off, disappearing down alleyways and side streets.
"Sora hold on!" Reppamon exclaimed as he was forced to suddenly stop. Sora gripped her partner's neck and barely hung on. After they had stopped Sora looked up to see a trio of Knightmon standing in front of her.
"Everyone break away!" She turned and yelled to the people behind her. However most of them had already broken up and gone in separate directions. However two stragglers had tried to run away too late, and had gotten captured by one of the three ultimates.
"Daddy!" The little girl and her father were snatched up by the Knightmon. Reppamon lunged at the monster, his horn lowered, and attempted to jab at his foe. The Knightmon was prepared however and grabbed Reppamon's horn, throwing him and Sora off to the side. In this move however he accidentally let go of his hostages, and threw the little girl and her father along with Reppamon and Sora, sending them all into a pile in the middle of the street. Reppamon quickly sprang back up and rushed at the Knightmon again as Sora helped the two civilians to their feet.
"What's going on here?" The man cried to Sora as he grasped his daughter in his arms.
"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright, just get away from here as fast as possible and hide!" Sora ordered him.
"How can you be so sure?" He whimpered.
"Don't worry; just have faith in us, the Digidestined!" She smiled. As she did, a light began to shine from her crest.
"What's that?" He looked down at the beacon as it shown even brighter. Sora looked down, and smiled.
"It's our way out of this mess, now go!" She shoved the man away and turned towards her partner as he ran off with his child in arms. She now faced the other two Knightmon, who were running towards her. "So, mine's faith: makes sense, I'll always believe in myself and my friends!" The Knightmon threw their swords forward as they reached her. "Reppamon use this!" She cheered, thrusting her digivice into the air. The light from her crest exploded forwards and engulfed her digivice, which then shot an even stronger light forward. The energy knocked away the two Knightmon and surrounded her partner as it reached him, throwing back the Knightmon he was fighting and forcing it to shield its eyes.
"Chirinmon!"