CHAPTER 25
QUICKSAND
Both parties were stunned at the appearance of the amazing new Digimon, but he didn't seem to be in very great shape; he floated in the air, his body frizzing and slipping in and out of focus like a bad television connection. Davis's D3 spat sparks every few moments; he had to point the screen down at the sand to avoid getting burned. Ken was the first to regain his voice. "Are you… are you… Wormmon?…" he gulped.
The Digimon looked down at the children, and his body snapped into solid form. "My name… is Paildramon," he said in a strange voice; it sounded like Exveemon's, but it had a second, lower voice behind it.
Ken stared down at the sand. Davis wasn't sure what to make of it, either; that freaky light from Ken's D3 had changed his Digimon. "But, uh, you're still Veemon, right?" he asked.
A shriek from Okuwamon brought everyone back to the problem. "Get inside the base," Paildramon said as he turned to face the gray bug. "I'll take care of this!"
"What?!" Davis asked. Exveemon couldn't do anything to Okuwamon; how could this be any different? "But…"
Okuwamon lunged at the newcomer. Faster than it takes to write it, Paildramon swooped under its jowls and plunged his foot into its neck. Okuwamon flew backwards and smashed into the side of the Gigas, sending a powerful crash through the air, along with a wall of sand. Yolei couldn't close her mouth. "WOAH!" she yelled.
"My thoughts exactly," Hawkmon said.
Okuwamon struggled and leaped up with another angry roar; it didn't appreciate the blow. Its claws snapping and its wings buzzing, it tore across the sand towards Paildramon, but the newcomer dove beneath it and his claws shot out like cable guns, wrapping around its bottom legs. Before Okuwamon knew it, Paildramon had hurled it into the side of the ship again. "Yeah! Yeah!" Patamon cheered, throwing little punches with his trotters. "Get 'im! Get 'im!"
"Good grief," Kari said, looking up at Paildramon; with so much power, he couldn't be a simple Champion-level Digimon. "Do you think he's an Ultimate?" she asked.
"If he's not, it looks like he's strong as one," TK said.
Gatomon was equally shocked, but she also felt annoyed; it hardly seemed fair that Veemon could get to an Ultimate level, but she couldn't. Cody wore a frown as he looked over at Davis and Ken. Just what had happened when Okuwamon grabbed them? And what was that light?
Okuwamon came at Paildramon again, but he was ready and put its face in the sand with another kick. Despite how big the bug was, it certainly didn't learn from its mistakes.
Davis cheered and war-whooped, jumping up and down and waving his arms like he was at a rock concert. This new Digimon kicked serious ass! There was no way that creepy lady could stop them now! Ken, however, just stared at it, his eyes wavering with amazement, but also horror. Had whatever remained of Wormmon abandoned him for this other boy… Or did it mean something else?…
With another mighty yell, Paildramon threw Okuwamon down for a fourth time, then turned to the children. "What're you waiting for?!" he demanded. "Get moving!"
Davis blinked for a moment, then snapped back to the situation at hand. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed. "C'mon, Ken!"
The two boys raced under the battling giants, headed for the base. Ken didn't want to go along with the goggle-headed boy, but something had changed; he had to know what Paildramon meant, and so, he needed to follow him.
"Hey, wait up!" Yolei yelled, dragging Hawkmon along as she chased after them. The others also turned and ran; as weird as it all was, they had their chance to get inside and they weren't going to blow it.
The woman snarled as she saw the kids break for it; she couldn't allow them inside. "Okuwamon!" she yelled, pointing at them.
Moving far faster than a bug its size ought to, Okuwamon planted itself between the children and the opening… but Paildramon's swift kick knocked it away, allowing everyone inside. "Sorry, but kids aren't on the Friday menu!" Paildramon huffed. "We've got plenty of knuckle sandwiches, though!"
"You…" the woman snarled, losing her cool. "Okuwamon!" she yelled. "Playtime is over!"
Okuwamon staggered back up and shrieked again, its claws snapping madly. Paildramon braced himself, hoping he could buy the kids enough time to find the energy source.
… … …
The first thing the children noticed when they got inside the Gigas was how different the air felt. Being shielded from the sun, naturally they knew it would be cooler… but it almost felt like they were in a walk-in refrigerator. "Whoo!" Yolei gasped, rubbing at her arms. "Shoulda brought a scarf or something!" She took a step forward and felt herself sink down with a little squelching noise, but when she looked down, she saw the floor was solid steel. She moved again and got the same feeling and noise. "Weird," she said.
"Indeed," Hawkmon said, fluttering forward and hearing the same squelch. "Seems rather mushy for metal…"
Davis looked over at Cody and saw there was something different about him: all the color on his face and clothes was dulled, like in a black-and-white photograph. Armadillomon was pale gray instead of his usual yellow. "Hey, you guys feelin' OK?" he asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Cody replied.
"Yer all… gray," Armadillomon said.
Davis looked down and jumped; his bright, flashy clothes were as dull and dingy as Cody's were. A quick look around told him that everyone else was in the same state… and Kari looked absolutely terrified. "What's the matter, Kari?" he asked, rushing over to her.
Kari hugged herself as she shivered. "This is just like the ocean," she murmured.
He scratched his head. Ocean? What ocean? Was it whatever she had been talking about that other time? "Whaddya mean?" he asked.
"Yeah," TK agreed quietly, his face stony and grave; the dark ruins felt the same as the bottom of that whirlpool, and the Deadmon factory. Kari moved closer to him, and instinctively he went to her side; nothing was going to hurt her while he was there. Davis fumed, his teeth grinding; how did TK know what she was talking about?
Ken grunted in agreement, his eyes darting around warily. He knew the atmosphere as well: it was the same as when that eerie voice had spoken to him in the whirlpool, and when Kimeramon had disobeyed. Something sinister was at work in this base… something far worse than the Digimon Emperor.
Davis looked at him and was suddenly very annoyed; it looked like everybody know what was going on except him. "Will somebody clue me the fark in?!" he demanded.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Hawkmon sighed, shrugging.
"Well, I don't wanna stay in here any longer than we have to," Yolei said, whipping out her D-Terminal and starting to type; hopefully Izzy knew where that energy source was so they could get to it and then scram.
Ken was the first to snap out of his thoughts. "Did you come to destroy the base, too?" he asked Davis.
"What? No," Davis said. "We're just checkin' out what Izzy said was in here."
Ken nodded sternly. "Good," he said. "I built this place… I'm the one who destroys it."
"Uh… OK," Davis replied, not quite knowing what else to say.
Cody scowled at the Digimon Emperor. If he was planning to destroy this base, he might do it while they were all in it. He had to be ready to act the moment he saw him do anything suspicious.
"Ken, we're looking for some new energy source," TK said, turning to the boy. "Was there a backup engine or something in here?"
Ken shook his head. "No," he said, "all of the power in the base came from that black thing… and that's gone now."
"Yeah, and we all know whose fault THAT is," Yolei said, leering at Davis. "How could you lose it?!"
"I didn't lose it!" Davis snapped. "It just freakin' disappeared!"
"Yeah, sure it did!" she huffed, getting in his face again. "What'd it do, just magically hop out of your D-Terminal and—"
Just then, Gatomon's ears perked up and her tail twitched. "Shut up!" she hissed.
Everyone turned and looked at her. "What's the matter?" Armadillomon asked.
Her ears swiveled into an agitated stance, and she protectively stood before Kari. "Something's coming," she growled.
Everyone quieted and listened, staring into the darkness ahead. Slowly, the sound of clanking, grinding footsteps came to their ears… First one pair, then two, then… none of them could tell. A chorus of low, foreboding groans reached them, making their neck hairs stand on end. Cody's eyes narrowed and his heart raced. His fingers clenched his D3 and backed towards the others. "Get ready," he breathed.
Instinctively, the kids bunched into a group and gripped their Digivices, their partners taking brave positions before them. Large, boxy shapes took form in the darkness, and nobody could avoid gasping in terror as they came into the light. They were Mekanorimon, but they were a far cry from the ones that the children had seen before; most of them were dented and scratched, and some even had missing claws, loose wires dangling from the stumps. Not one of them had an eye; there were only empty sockets dripping black fluid all over their torsos. Long, low groans shuddered from their exhaust vents. "Wha… what…" was all Kari could manage.
Ken swallowed hard. "They're dead," he choked.
Yolei turned wild eyes on him. "DEAD?!" she squeaked.
"Patamon…!" TK growled, raising his D3.
Davis bit hit lip so hard, he could taste blood. He never thought he would see zombie Digimon; he shuddered to think of what else was in the base.
… … …
Yolei's e-mail flashing on his laptop, Izzy looked over the energy signal's readout, trying to find exactly where in the Gigas it was. How stupid he was, not telling them that in the first place; he had been too preoccupied with finding Gennai to add details.
He hit a few keys and sighed; the source was at the back of the base, close to the top… almost the first place to hit the ground when it crashed. He raised an eyebrow at that; was the energy source something that was inside the base, or was it something that had been in the desert before? Whichever it was, he opened a fresh e-mail and started writing:
Yolei,
The energy source is coming from the back of the ship, close to the
His eyes darted back to the map. He was sure there had been another colored circle around the mysterious orange one just a moment ago… but once again, it was gone. He frowned; he didn't like that at all. Feeling it was better to err on the side of caution, he resumed typing:
The energy source is coming from the back of the ship, close to the top… but something weird is happening around it, so be extremely careful.
He pushed the button to send the letter, then turned and glared at the blipping orange light, wondering just what he had sent the new kids after.
… … …
Izzy didn't know it, but his advice was redundant; the swarm of undead Mekanorimon had the party surrounded. Yolei took it the least well. "Nooo!" she shrieked, grabbing Ken around the waist and Davis around the neck. "Make them go away!"
Cody was the first to respond. "Armadillomon!" he yelled, raising his D3. Ken wrenched himself free of Yolei's amazingly iron grip and took aim. TK thought to have Patamon become Pegasusmon, but there was hardly any room to fly in the crashed base; he wouldn't be able to help at all.
As hard as they fought, absolutely nothing stopped the lumbering creatures. Digmon's drills ripped through countless Mekanorimon middles, and Ken's waves of bullets sent limbs flying every which way—even some upper halves—but the beasts marched on without even reacting; all that changed was the amount of black slime they leaked; it ran from all their wounds like open sores. The tops of the bisected ones dragged themselves forward with their claws. "Aww, that's just nasty," Digmon growled.
Yolei throttled Davis with both hands. She couldn't take it any more; was she the only one who knew how to deal with zombies?! She hit a button on her D3 and raised it, and Hawkmon became Shurimon. "Take off the heads!" she hyperventilated.
Shurimon moved to intercept the Mekanorimon, but then noticed a flaw in Yolei's plan. "Yolei," he said, glancing back at her, "they don't HAVE heads!"
Yolei's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and she screamed and squeezed Davis even harder. With an angry gurgle, he clamped his hand into her thigh, pinching hard. She cried out and he wriggled free. "Get the hell off!" he snapped.
Yolei would not be calmed so easily. "They're gonna get us!" she yelled, grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him. "They're gonna get us!"
"Please, Yolei… calm down!" Kari urged her; Yolei's freaking out wasn't helping her own anxieties one bit. "We have to keep level heads—"
Yolei screamed again, pointing past her. Kari turned around and wished she hadn't; a Mekanorimon had managed to get behind them and bore down on her, its eye socket running with goo. The lid on the top of its body snapped open, revealing a sharp set of glistening fangs in a guttural roar. She felt her legs freeze in place; those weren't supposed to be there!
"BACK OFF!" Davis yelled, throwing himself into the Mekanorimon, knocking it back and spattering its gunk all over the floor. Paildramon may have been busy outside, but nothing was going to hurt Kari if he could do something about it!
"Davis, no!" TK yelled, but the goggle-headed boy held on tight, pounding on the monster with his free hand. The Mekanorimon, unimpressed, raised its remaining claw to gouge him. Patamon ralphed a blast of air onto it, but to no effect; the monster swatted him away and turned back to the pest clinging to it.
Gatomon's tail twitched. She was through staying back; her friends needed help. Before Kari could stop her, she leaped at the Mekanorimon with a hissy screech, her claws sparking with electricity.
Nobody expected what happened next. The second her claw met the monster's metal torso, its whole body shook in violent spasms, throwing Davis off. An unearthly, horrible shriek rang from its vents, and then it slumped to its knees, vomiting another oily puddle before going totally silent. A plume of black smoke rose up from the top. TK blinked a few times, then looked at Gatomon. "Wow," was all he could say.
Gatomon couldn't quite believe it herself. She stared down at her claws as if they were alien tools.
Davis picked himself up, trying to flick away some of the black ooze on his jacket. "Heh… thanks," he said sheepishly.
Kari stared wide-eyed at the defeated monster. Black smoke? That was what happened to the Airdramon in the Dark Ocean! Then… "Gatomon!" she yelled.
Gatomon's eyes snapped back into focus. "Right!" she huffed, racing to the front of the battle. As quickly as she could, she scampered up the back of a very surprised Digmon and leaped onto the nearest Mekanorimon, and just like before, it collapsed with a tortured scream. She bounced from one machine to the next, each one falling like the one before. When she was done, fifteen or so Mekanorimon lay in a dark pool of their own fluids, deactivated once more.
Digmon and Shurimon reverted to Armadillomon and Hawkmon. "Whew… Ain't that a kicker," Armadillomon sighed.
"Goodness, Gatomon," Hawkmon exclaimed, "how ever did you do that?"
Gatomon heaved hard; all that jumping around had taken its toll. "I… don't know…" she wheezed, turning to her partner. "Kari?"
Kari just shook her head, not knowing what to say. Yolei did, though; she let out all her air in an exasperated, high-pitched squeal.
"They're dead, OK?" Davis said, rolling his eyes. "Quit it!"
She was going to snap that they had been dead before when her D-Terminal beeped. She snapped it open immediately, glad for anything to take her mind off the zombies. "OK, Izzy says it's at the front of the ship!" she said in half-yells, pointing ahead. "Let's get going!"
Ken said nothing; he just took off into the darkness. "Hey, wait!" Davis yelled. "Ken, wait up!"
Davis ran after Ken, Yolei and Hawkmon chased after Davis, and Cody and Armadillomon warily ran after all of them. TK and Kari lingered, looking over the broken-down Mekanorimon. "Why're they here?…" Kari asked quietly, her mind flooded with panic. "What did they want?"
"I don't know," TK said, questions flowing through his knotted brow. Were the Deadmon after Kari again? Did Devimon send them?… or was there something else?…
Gatomon stared down at her gloved claws. Even without her tail ring, she had destroyed dozens of Digimon in just moments; it seemed she still had some kind of mysterious power.
"Hey!" Patamon chirped, breaking them all from their thoughts, "we'd better get moving, or they'll leave us behind!"
"Oh! Right!" Kari said, turning towards the path further inside. "We'd better hurry!"
The four of them raced off after the others… but not one of them noticed the fingers of the Mekanorimon had begun to twitch.
… … …
With a mighty cry, Paildramon hurled Okuwamon into the sand once again, the gray bug finally collapsing in exhaustion. For just being a hunk of control spires, it sure put up quite a fight. He turned and glared down at the red-cloaked woman; it was time for some answers. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What's your angle here?"
The woman snarled, then grew calm, a wicked smirk on her lips. "You'd better worry more about yourself," she cackled.
"What?!" he asked. "What kind of answer is—"
Something clamped around his foot and he was flung down into the sand. Okuwamon hovered over him, buzzing furiously through its clicking mandibles. He swallowed hard; the fight still wasn't over.
… … …
"Aww, shit! Again?!" Davis swore, kicking at the obstructing pile of debris they had run into. The Gigas had been difficult to navigate before, but now it was nothing short of a ruinous maze; a mixture of slag and sand had taken hold of most of the dark corridors, and the group had hit three dead ends already.
"This is gettin' annoyin'," Armadillomon said; he had tried to dig through the refuse several times already, but the sand was amazingly hard. "Are we even goin' towards the back anymore?"
"I don't know; I'm all turned around," TK sighed.
Yolei clenched and unclenched her fists over and over, small whimpers escaping her throat. "Yolei, please try to keep a level head," Hawkmon assured her.
"Level head?!" she snapped. "We could be in here forever! And what if there're more Digi-zombies?!"
Davis scratched at his chin. Yolei had a point; without some knowledge of how this place was supposed to look, chances of reaching the front of the ship were slim… but there was someone who knew. "Hey!" he said, turning to Ken, "why don't you take the lead?"
Everyone went dead silent. Ken blinked, just as surprised as the others. "Me?…" he asked.
"You know how this looked before it crashed," Davis went on, "so you can tell us where to go!"
Ken hesitated, then sighed and shook his head. "It's so damaged, even I may not know where I'm going," he admitted.
"It's better than us pissin' around in here," Davis said. "C'mon, Ken, give it a try!"
There was an unpleasant silence. Cody gave Davis a furious look; that was going way too far. They couldn't afford to trust him. The Digimon Emperor was still behind all of this; he was certain of it. Ken glared over at the little boy as if he could hear his thoughts, and Cody glared back, determined that the Emperor would be able to hear them. Armadillomon looked up at his partner, not knowing what to say.
TK looked around at his friends, then shook his head. "Let's let him try," he spoke up.
Ken, Davis and Cody all turned surprised looks on him. "What?" they all said at once.
"Davis is right; he knows this place better," TK went on, "and we'd have more of a chance of finding this thing."
Patamon was the only one who didn't look surprised. He knew his partner couldn't hold a grudge for long, even to someone like Ken.
Kari blinked, then nodded; the sooner they got out of the evil-slathered catacombs, the sooner she could relax. "Right," she agreed.
"Sure! Sure!" Yolei chirped, partly from excitement, but mostly from terror. Of course she trusted Ken; she just wanted to get out alive.
Gatomon sighed. "If our partners say it's OK, then we'll trust you, too," she said to Ken.
Ken stared at her, lost in thought. A Digimon who had felt the crack of his whip firsthand would say such a thing? Then she must honestly be placing her trust in him, just like everyone else; he could hardly refuse after hearing that. "All right," he said quietly, making his way to the front, "come on."
The party set off in the direction Ken was going. Cody hung at the very back, his D3 ready. The Emperor may have caught everyone else up in his web of sweet talk, but he didn't buy into it for one minute. When that fiend revealed his true colors, Digmon would be there to do what they should have done when they had the chance.
… … …
With an irritated grunt, the mysterious woman scowled back at the fallen Gigas. How annoying things had turned out to be. Those kids better have been wiped out; she was holding up her end of things well enough… or rather, Okuwamon was holding it up. The big, gray bug had the Paildramon firmly in its pincers, helpless. "What a fool you are," she said, turning back to her opponent. "If you hadn't Digivolved, you wouldn't have to die so horribly. Okuwamon!"
Okuwamon screeched and raised the new warrior high above its head, savoring his terrified look… but nature decided to intervene. The setting sun's rays hit Paildramon's armor and the glare made Okuwamon reel, momentarily blinding its hidden eyes. Its grip loosened, and Paildramon yanked his hands free to demonstrate yet another technique; A long, sharp needle thrust out of the top of his claw and pierced Okuwamon's cheek, shattering the flesh and revealing the black control spire beneath.
Okuwamon lost its grip on him completely, flailing around and shrieking at the pain of the wound. "I've still got plenty of time!" Paildramon said, landing before the woman. "Now, who ARE you?!"
The woman simply chuckled again. "You still seem a little busy," she purred, casually pointing behind him.
He had only turned halfway around when Okuwamon's claw smashed into the top of his head. The big bug towered over him, half of its face crumbling away… but it looked more violent and angry than ever. Paildramon swallowed hard; it took more than a cheek piercing to stop a Spire-Born.
… … …
"Oh, boy… Are we getting anywhere close?" Gatomon muttered as she climbed over another mound of scrap metal.
"I'm sure we are," Kari said. "Just be patient."
"Yeah, Ken'll get us through it," Davis said. "Just chill."
"I don't know…" the cat said, casting a worrisome look at their navigator, "we've hit a few dead ends already…"
"Hey, c'mon!" Davis argued. "He's doin' fine!"
Ken sighed sadly as he heard the dissent in the party. Though he carried himself like he knew where he was going, he felt as lost as any of them. The whole ship was lopsided, and who knew how many passages had caved in completely; maybe they couldn't even reach the front anymore… but if he gave up, they would think he had tricked them, just as the smallest one insisted. He bit his lip and looked around; when had this become so complicated? The last time he had come in here, he knew what he was destined to do, but now…
…His eyes lit up. Maybe he DID know the way!… well, partially. Before, he had gone far enough in to reach the throne room, and that was in the center of the ship; he could lead them there, and then maybe there would be a way to the front. Yes, that's what he would do… Until he understood what had happened outside, he had to keep these kids alive.
"Hey!" Patamon chirped, fluttering a little ahead of him. "There's a door here!"
Ken snapped out of his thoughts to a wonderful surprise; the door to the throne room stood right in front of him. He hadn't been paying attention, but he'd brought them anyway; Sam and Wormmon must have been guiding his feet.
"Maybe it's in there?" Hawkmon suggested.
Ken knew there wasn't anything in the throne room; he had cleaned out what was left the last time… but he wouldn't stop the others if they wanted to look. He stepped through the dark portal, allowing the others entry.
The Digidestined all looked around, realizing what the place was. "Woah…" Yolei gasped, momentarily pushing away all of her terrible thoughts to gawk at the trashed technological treasure-trove.
"Is this… the control room?" TK asked.
Ken nodded silently, his thoughts drifting back to his Imperial days. He couldn't count how many hours he had spent in that throne, launching dark rings and erecting control spires… He had enjoyed it immensely then, but now the very sight of that toppled chair pained his stomach.
Cody scowled at the throne, and again at Ken. He could still feel the punches and kicks landing on him from when he had fought the Emperor face-to-face… and suffered a vile defeat. "There's nothing in here," he muttered, "let's go."
"Yeah, this isn't the back," Kari agreed. "We should keep moving."
Ken continued to stare at the throne, his thoughts whirling again. What was it all for? Was his only purpose to supply that wicked woman with control spires? Had he just been a delivery boy? A pawn making way for stronger pieces?…
"Um, Ken," Patamon's voice popped into his ear. "Should we try the next hall?"
Ken looked at the little pig for a moment, then silently left the room and made a right, heading down a new path. Thinking would have to wait; there was still danger here.
… … …
Okuwamon dove for Paildramon again, but the new warrior leaped up and kicked it in the face, knocking it back once again. Then, to his surprise, it flapped its wings and rose, kicking up a wild sandstorm and vanishing in the dust. Guessing at where Okuwamon was, he fired his cable-gun claws into the whirlwind, hoping they would latch on and yank the monster out.
The claws hit something, but things didn't go as planned; Okuwamon clamped its pincers onto the chains and yanked Paildramon into the storm with it. "Hey, no fair!" Paildramon yelled as he was once again snared in its steely claw. With a triumphant screech, Okuwamon dove into the sand and vanished, taking him along. The battleground grew silent.
The woman smiled, finally pleased again. Power was useless when one had no air.
… … …
Having passed the throne room, the party continued down a new maze of wreckage. Ken was starting to remember how the passages went, and though he sometimes hit dead ends, he led the others quickly and well. However, the passages themselves were starting to change; the light grew dimmer and dimmer, and Gatomon grunted at how much more sand was on the ground. "How far down did this thing crash?" she asked. "This won't be good on my fur…"
"If it went down like it looks like it did, we're in for a lot more sand," TK said.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Kari asked.
Gatomon frowned and shook her head. "I'll be fine," she muttered; a little sand was nothing compared to looking pampered in front of the others.
Yolei was by far the worst off; her eyes darted every which way, and she whimpered with each breath. "Yolei, what is the matter?!" Hawkmon demanded.
She swallowed hard. "The Mekanorimon…" she choked. "I bet they're after me!"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," he said. "Why would they be after you?"
"Because I'm the one who blew 'em to bits!" she squeaked. "They've come back for revenge! It's just like in 'Occupant Wicked VI!'"
"You play too many video games," Cody said again.
Suddenly, Ken came to a stop, making the others bang heads. "Hey, what's goin' on?!" Armadillomon asked.
Ken silently pointed ahead, and everybody groaned aloud. The rest of the passage was blocked by a wall of sand. "Oh, great!" Patamon huffed. "NOW what do we do?"
Armadillomon ambled over and sniffed at it, then dug out a chunk with his claw. "This stuff is soft," he said. "I reckon we can just dig through it."
"I've got a better idea!" Davis said, grinning at Ken. "Why don'tcha blast a big hole right through?"
Ken frowned and shook his head. "No," he said.
"What?" Davis asked. "Why not?!"
"If I use my stronger weapons in here, the shock waves could collapse the entire ship," Ken replied.
Davis winced; he hadn't thought of that. "Err… OK…" he mumbled, "I guess we'd better start diggin', then."
Armadillomon grinned; it was his time to shine. "Leave it to ol' Armadillomon!" he said.
Before anyone could stop him, he was already deep in the sand, burrowing as fast as Digmon drilled… and the hole was even large enough for the humans to walk through, provided they kept their heads down. "Niiice," Davis laughed, starting in after him.
One by one, the others filed into the dark, sandy tunnel and crept along, using the sound of the person ahead of them for guidance. The crawl was mostly downhill, and the sand seemed to get wetter as they went… and sloppier, too, almost like mud. "Ugh," Hawkmon grunted, flicking some off of his wings, "I'm certainly going to need to bathe tonight."
A large glob of sand fell from above and splattered across TK's shoulder. "I think that goes for all of us," he said.
Davis glanced back at Ken through one eye. "How long d'ya think this goes on?" he asked.
"This hall was a direct path to the engine room," Ken answered, his metal-laden arms scraping along the tight walls. "I suppose it won't be—"
There was a loud clang ahead, and Armadillomon yelped in pain. "Criminitley!" he howled, dancing around on his back legs and waving his front paws around.
"Armadillomon! What's the matter?!" Cody asked from the back.
Davis looked ahead and grinned. Traces of metal peeked out from the sand in the place where Armadillomon had stopped. "Looks like there's a door," he reported to everyone.
Ken nodded darkly. "The engine room," he muttered.
"Fine time to have it closed!" Armadillomon winced, nursing his paws. "Sand's fine, but I can't do nothin' with metal 'cept learn a buncha new cuss words!"
Ken glared at the door and began to scoot forward. "Move," he ordered Davis.
Ordinarily Davis would have answered with a sarcastic "where?" but Ken didn't look like he was in a joking mood. He scooted as far right as he could and ducked as Ken made his way past. Ken knelt down, played with a few buttons on his right-hand gun and aimed his laser at the door.
"What are you—" Cody began to snap, but the laser lit up with a whir. A small, red beam pierced the top-left corner of the door, slowly moving down and right and leaving a burning line of melted metal. It then rose up to the top-right corner and repeated the process to the bottom left. Ken shut the laser off, then rose and rammed the door. With one impact of his metallic armaments, the barrier broke apart with a deafening clatter.
"Whoo!" Davis laughed. "Awesome!"
The group stepped out of the tunnel into a curious, eerie sight. They stood in the large, empty chamber that used to be a seemingly bottomless pit, with the mysterious engine room in the center, but things were incredibly different. The chamber now had a floor and a ceiling of gray, cold sand. It wasn't just those which were cold and gray; the entire room was devoid of color and as cold as a refrigerator. A dark haze floated around the ground, almost up to their ankles. It was as quiet as a crypt. "Whew," Davis whistled, "definitely got a creepy makeover…"
Kari hugged herself again as she looked around, even more nervous than before. This felt exactly like that empty beach. Was it involved somehow? Were they going to run into more of those… things?
Gatomon looked at her and touched her leg with her paw. "Don't worry," she said, reading her thoughts, "I'll protect you."
Something in the distance caught Davis's eye, and he peered into the haze; he thought he had seen a small, orange light flickering in the distance. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.
Everyone turned and looked; surely enough, something over there was glowing. "Maybe that's what Izzy was talkin' about," Armadillomon said.
There was one way to find out, TK figured; he ran towards the glow and started digging through the sand. "Come on!" he urged.
Davis, Ken, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon all raced over and started digging, too. Armadillomon looked up at his partner. "See, Cody? There really was somethin' down here!" he said.
Cody stayed silent, watching Ken's every move. It certainly looked like Izzy had been right… but they would know soon enough if it was a trick or not.
Yolei was off in her own terror-filled world, walking around the chamber and shuddering violently. "Yolei, what's the matter now?" Hawkmon asked. "I know it's cold, but…"
"I was just thinking… This is a desert," she said, her voice slightly less screechy. "What could suck away all the heat in here? And what about the color? It has to be something really awful!"
Hawkmon frowned. It would be a lie to say he wasn't concerned about their surroundings, but he kept his cool far better than his partner. "Even so," he tried to change the subject, "there's nothing to be afraid of. We have our friends nearby, and we've already defeated those Mekanorimon."
Her eyes snapped onto him. "Did we?" she asked hotly. "Did we, really?! Did you see them disappear?"
"Here, now, stop frightening yourself," he said. "Come on, let's help the others."
They walked over along with Cody and Armadillomon, but the others didn't really need help; with the six of them digging, it wasn't long before the glow was uncovered. Kari, TK and their Digimon let out gasps at what lay before them. Ken stared at it, his expression unreadable. Davis looked at his friends' shocked faces and scratched his head. "Uh…" he said, "what is it?"
What lay in the sand was a small, orange piece of what looked like plastic, broken into the shape of a lightning bolt. A partial image of what looked like a sun was engraved on it. Davis picked it up and turned it over in his hand. "Orange… plastic?" he asked, getting angry. "A shitty piece of orange plastic?!"
"What?!" Yolei shrieked, her fear momentarily replaced by rage. "Ripoff! Total ripoff!"
"It's NOT just plastic!" Patamon yelled, snatching it from Davis and dropping it in TK's palm.
TK and Kari didn't know what to make of it. That partial sun symbol was the Crest of Courage. "A piece of Tai's…?" TK murmured quietly.
"I don't understand," Ken said, staring at it. Wasn't "Tai" one of the older children? What did it mean?
Something dripped onto the top of Yolei's hat. At first she thought maybe sand had fallen from the ceiling, like in the tunnel, but then a big dollop of black, blood-like goo slithered down her right lens. All of her joints stiffened, she slowly turned around… and the scream shook the whole room. A broken Mekanorimon towered over her, its eye spurting violently.
"Watch it!" Gatomon yelled, leaping right over Yolei and slashing the undead thing in the face. It screamed and slumped over, just like the ones before. Yolei heaved and clutched at her chest; she could very well be the first teen to have a heart attack.
Hawkmon frowned at the broken-down device. "It must have followed us through the tunnels," he said.
Cody heard a low moan behind him, and he spun around and his eyes widened. "I don't think so," he rasped.
Everyone jerked around wildly as a dozen more zombified machines seeped out of the shadows, lurching towards the party with their remaining arms outstretched. "Aww, shit," Davis swore.
The whole room's aura shifted, becoming more cruel. The haze started to drift towards the orange piece in TK's hand, as if it were drawn to it. TK cried out as the vapors whirled and crossed over the piece, stinging his hand and forcing him to drop it. The orange thing didn't seem to like it either; it started to twitch, then spark, then finally began a loud, malicious hum. Everyone jumped back as a bright, orange beam shot out of it, leaving a giant hole in the ceiling above. Another one shot out to the right and pierced a Mekanorimon, burning it to ashes. The death of their comrade didn't faze the other Mekanorimon; they just kept coming.
Gatomon flexed her claws. Ken readied his machine gun. Yolei bawled loudly and grabbed Hawkmon by the throat. The orange object gave another howl and tore another hole in the ceiling. Davis swallowed hard; whatever was going on in this place couldn't possibly be good for any of them.
… … …
Izzy had been quietly watching the energy source until then, but now he bounced out of his swivel chair, knocking it to the floor. The output increased at an alarming rate. Sweat burst from his temples as the readout jumped past one hundred fifty percent… two hundred percent… three hundred percent and still going. The screen flashed a violent red; explosion was imminent. "Holy…!" he whispered, and then he wildly banged out a new letter to the kids. They had to get out, and right that second.
… … …
As Demiveemon, Paildramon had undergone plenty of baths and scrambles underneath bed sheets, but sand was a new and unwelcome cover. He struggled as ferociously as he could, but Okuwamon's grip was as solid as it ever was… and his air was almost gone. Through the sand, he heard Okuwamon's shrieking laugh; it didn't need to breathe. He couldn't give up; Davis and the others were counting on him!… but what could he do? He couldn't see Okuwamon and his claws wouldn't be effective in this sand… did he have any other weapons?
His oxygen-starved mind snapped into place. Yes… he did have another weapon. Forcing his way through the sand, his hands made their way down to the twin guns at his loins. With the last of his strength, he thrust them towards that screechy laughter and fired off three rounds.
A metallic shriek rocked the desert, and suddenly he found himself back in the open air, the setting sun stinging his eyes. Greedily he sucked in a deep swig of air and spewed it out with elation.
Okuwamon crashed down before him, all of the flesh around its face gone and the black spire sheen exposed. With an angry shriek, it raised its claw and charged at him. "End of the line for you!" Paildramon declared, grabbing the guns and pointing them again. "Desperado Blaster!"
The guns had an even greater effect out in the open. Torrents of shining bullets ripped into Okuwamon's body, removing the rest of its phony Digimon skin and reducing the spire beneath to smoldering rubble. All that remained was its claw, still open and ready to grab Paildramon. He kicked it over and it fell to pieces in the sand. "Whoo…" he sighed, clutching at his chest, "that was too close!"
Just then, the sound of an explosion caught his ear. He turned around just in time to see three orange rays burst out of the base wreckage. His heart leaped; Davis was in trouble. "Hang on!" he yelled, taking to the air and flying towards the blasts.
The mysterious woman had remained cool all though the battle, but she couldn't hold her anger any longer. "You wretched rag bag reject!" she roared, shaking her fist at Paildramon as he disappeared into the base. That freak of nature had beaten Okuwamon! Those brats in there had better have been taken care of, or else…
… … …
Too many orange rays shot around the chamber for Gatomon to deal with the zombie Mekanorimon. Every time she got ready to attack one, she had to leap out away from a stray blast. Often one of them tore through a monster, but for every one that was destroyed, two more emerged from the blackness.
The orange piece glowed almost yellow, it shook even more wildly, and it fired off more lasers as its hum became a horrible, unearthly shriek. "Shit!" Davis yelled, jamming his thumbs into his ears.
"It's gonna blow!" Yolei cried, almost throttling Hawkmon. Cody just stared at the wild object, eyes wide.
Ken swallowed hard. Things couldn't end here! He had to learn what Paildramon was!
TK looked at Kari. "NOW what do we do?!" he yelled, trying to hear himself through the scream.
Kari was about to say that she had no idea when the room shook, and sand poured down from above. She looked up in horror; would they all be buried alive in here?
The room shook twice more, and then yellow light burst forth from above. Everyone's hearts leaped as Paildramon flew in through the opening. "Somebody need help in here?" he asked.
"No shit!" Davis yelled, taking one finger out of his ear to point. "Do somethin' about that!"
Paildramon dodged an orange ray, then trained his guns on the strange object and fired away. One bullet sent it flying into the air, and a second one blew it into oblivion. "Game, set, match!" Paildramon laughed.
"Whoo! Thanks, Pa—" Davis began, but he was cut off by a low, furious snarl thundering through the room. One by one, the zombie Mekanorimon turned completely black and melted away into the haze like chalk drawings on a rainy day.
Yolei's eyes darted around. "Is… is it safe?" she squeaked.
"Whoo-whee…" Armadillomon whispered, "whaddya think that was?"
Cody looked around and listened intently, but he could hear nothing. "I think we're safe for now," he said.
Davis glanced around again, then grinned at his partner. "Nice one," he said. "You take care of that big bug, too?"
"Consider him squashed!" Paildramon said with a thumbs up.
TK looked over at the place where the strange, crest-like thing had rested. "I guess we'll never know what it was," he sighed.
Kari wasn't so sure about; she had another unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, like that had been the beginning of a whole new set of problems. "TK…" she began.
Suddenly, the whole base shook again, and a river of sand poured through the holes in the ceiling. Ken knew right away what was happening; the base was sinking into the desert. "We have to leave!" he yelled to the others.
"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Yolei yelped, running for the door they came through, dragging Hawkmon along with her.
Everyone scrambled back through the sandy, thin halls, leaping over heaps of junk like they were anthills. Paildramon brought up the rear, just in case there were any stragglers. The shaking and shudders got stronger as they went, and the kids had to dodge falling debris far more often than they wanted to.
Yolei laughed with delight as the light from the hole they had entered came into view… but it quickly changed to a scream and she stopped dead, everyone behind crashing into her. "What the hell, Yolei?!" Davis demanded.
Yolei pointed. Standing between the kids and the exit were a dozen more zombie Mekanorimon, looking just as awful as all the others. "Don't they care this place is goin' down?!" Armadillomon asked.
"They don't; they're dead," Cody said bluntly.
Gatomon raised her claws. "Just leave 'em to me!" she declared.
The Mekanorimon shuddered, then turned completely black, just like the ones in the chamber… but they didn't fade away; they oozed together, piling into one big wad. The giant ball shuddered and wavered, then split apart to reveal a giant, black bear with wicked eyes and stitches over its mouth. It roared angrily and waved its giant claws. Kari swallowed hard; they had Digivolved into a jumbo-sized Warumonzaemon. "Oh, come ON!" Yolei screamed.
"Err…" Gatomon winced. "Maybe not…"
Paildramon leaped in front of everyone, his own claws ready. "All of you get goin'!" he yelled. "I'll deal with fuzz-face, here!"
Sand began to pour through the opening. Davis looked up at him, shocked; for the first time in his life, he was genuinely afraid he might lose his partner. "But—" he tried to object.
"GO!" Paildramon yelled, charging the giant bear. Warumonzaemon roared and flew at its assailant.
Running as fast as they could, the kids weaved beneath the fighting monsters' legs and pushed through the sandy stream into the burning desert light. TK turned around and saw that Davis had stopped near the entrance. "Davis!" he yelled. "Come on!"
"But Paildramon—" Davis began.
"You'll be sucked back in!" TK urged, grabbing his arm and yanking hard. "Come ON!"
Reluctantly, Davis let TK pull him away. They retreated a safe distance to where everybody else lay sprawled out on the sand, exhausted. "Vuooo… That was… too much," Yolei groaned.
"Yolei… may I breathe now?!" Hawkmon rasped, tugging at the arm around his neck.
Ken looked at Davis. "Where's Paildramon?!" he demanded.
Davis opened his mouth to talk, but then he was almost blown over by a massive explosion behind him. He whirled around to see black smoke pouring out of the shrinking opening… and then a shadow zipping over the dunes as Paildramon flew towards them. "All RIGHT!" he laughed, jumping up and down; his little buddy was safe and sound.
Paildramon floated above them, then glowed a gentle yellow and shrank almost into nothing. Davis certainly was surprised at what dropped into his hands; it looked like a blue sock with another sock stuffed inside of it. "Uh… hey, there," he said.
The sock thing laughed. "Davis, don'tcha recognize me?" it asked.
"Sure I do!" he said, then frowned. "Uh… sort of…"
It laughed again. "I'm Chibomon," it said. "I'm the Baby form of Veemon! Better take care of me so I can get big again!"
Davis beamed. "You bet, little buddy," he said. "You're gettin' a six-course meal after what went down today!"
"Aww, what a cutie!" Kari cooed, stroking Chibomon's forehead with her finger. "You're lucky, Davis."
Davis grinned again, his cheeks reddening. Maybe he wouldn't be in such a hurry to help Chibomon grow; he had his uses.
The ground shook once more, and everyone turned around just in time to see the topmost part of the Gigas vanish beneath the desert. "Well, that's the end of that thing," TK said.
Ken's eyes stared at the empty skyline. That's right, he thought, be buried and forgotten. That's what must happen to every trace of the Digimon Emperor.
… … …
A callow sigh on her lips, the mysterious woman turned and started walking. What a bothersome outcome; who would have ever suspected those brats could cook up an Ultimate Digimon?! No, it wasn't just them; if that insolent Ichijouji boy hadn't gone sticking his nose in again, she would have…
She paused, then unclenched her fists. No, it wouldn't do at all to get angry. The unfortunate setback would change a few tiny things, but in the end, she was still going to win. She sucked in a deep breath of air and let it all out. That satisfied her, and she resumed her walk. Yes, she would still win; after all, she had more tricks than those children could imagine.
… … …
"Well, that's about as much as I can handle for one day," Patamon said. "Let's go home!"
Ken started to leave, but a hand touched his shoulder. He looked over and saw Kari smile at him. "Ken?" she said. "Thanks for coming today."
He stared right through her, the comment seemingly not getting through. "She's right," TK added, "we couldn't have done it without you."
"You really saved our asses!" Yolei beamed, then caught herself. "Oh, um, I mean… thanks."
Cody said nothing; he scowled and looked away. "Uh… Cody says thanks, too," Armadillomon tried.
Ken shook his head. "It wasn't me," he said. "It was Wormmon."
The others exchanged confused looks. Davis grinned. "Yeah, you're right!" he said.
"What do you mean?" Gatomon asked.
Not hearing the cat, Davis offered his hand to Ken. "But you were a major, MAJOR help today, and I guess that makes ya one of us now!" he said. "Welcome to the crew!"
Ken looked at Davis's hand with more focus than he had before, but his mind was still distant. It was true that what remained of Wormmon had flown into Veemon… but he didn't know what that meant. Whatever it did mean, though, he couldn't accept their friendship yet. Despite the Gigas being destroyed, the Digital World was still in ruin… and he couldn't begin again until he had cleaned up all of his past wickedness. "I'm sorry," he said, turning away, "I can't." With that, he turned and walked away.
Davis felt like someone had thrown ice water in his face. "Wait, what?!" he yelled. "Hey!"
"Come back!" Chibomon called. "Pretty please?"
Ken seemed to hesitate at Chibomon's call, but then he doubled his walking speed and vanished over a hill.
Yolei sighed. Why wouldn't Ken join them? Was it something someone had said? Or something she didn't say?
Kari shook her head. "Well… we can't force him," she said to Davis. "It has to happen naturally."
Cody snorted. "Friends like that, we don't need," he stated bluntly.
There was a long silence. TK glanced over at the setting sun. "At any rate, we should go home," he said. "It's almost night…"
"I'll second that," Gatomon agreed. "I really need something in my tummy."
Just then, Kari's D-Terminal beeped. Curious, everyone stopped and watched as she pulled it out and read the message. "It's Izzy," she said. "He wants us to come to his place and tell him about what we saw."
"What?!" Davis roared, his pent-up anger bursting to the surface. "You BET I'm gonna tell him! What the hell did he send us into?!"
"That's exactly what we'll learn," Cody said. "Come on, let's get moving."
… … …
"Sorry to call you all in so late," Izzy said to the assembled throng in his room. The kids all looked—and smelled—worn-out and cranky, especially after having to sneak past the janitor's office in addition to what they had gone through.
"Ohhh, no trouble!" Yolei said, nodding wildly; this was a hundred times better than a colorless, undead-laden base. "No trouble, none at all!"
"Not a problem," Cody muttered, balancing Upamon on one knee. "I'm used to my mother yelling at me for being late anyway…"
"Right," Izzy said, ignoring the sarcasm. "Now, what was the energy source?"
"You're not going to believe this, Izzy," Kari said, "but it was a piece of Tai's Crest!"
Yolei and Cody gave her puzzled looks, but Izzy almost fell out of his chair. "Tai's Crest?!" he yelped. "Are you sure?!"
"It sure was," TK agreed. "It was a little orange piece with part of a sun on it."
Izzy was quiet for a second, his mouth open but no words coming. "Did you… did you bring it back?" he finally asked.
Gatomon's ears sagged. "We couldn't," she said. "Paildramon blew it up."
"WHAT?!" Izzy yelled, jumping up and grabbing at his hair repeatedly. "You…?! How could you…?! Why did you…?!"
"If he didn't blow IT up, it would have blown US up," Patamon said. "It's like that dark haze made it go crazy!"
TK blinked, then looked at Kari. "Maybe that stuff was drawn to it," he said. "Maybe that's why all the creepy stuff was there…"
Kari shivered, even though Izzy's room was warm. What would those things want with a piece of a Crest?
"Paildramon?… Who's that?" Izzy asked, curiosity breaking him from his enraged stupor.
"It was amazing," Poromon spoke up. "Some kind of energy went into Exveemon, and then he turned into Paildramon, and boy did he know how to fight!"
Izzy's train of thought instantly switched tracks. "Went into…?" he asked.
"Ken's D3 broke… and then some crazy light came out of it and went into Exveemon," Yolei said, her voice oddly soft. "He seemed to think… it was Wormmon."
"But that's crazy talk," Gatomon argued. "Wormmon's gone! How could it be him?"
"It made him act weird for a second, too," Patamon said. "He flickered and fizzed, and Davis's D3 sparked a lot!"
Izzy leaned back in his chair, scratching at his chin again. Wormmon went into Exveemon and made him change? It sounded oddly familiar to him; two summers before, Tai's Wargreymon and Matt's Metalgarurumon had merged to form Omnimon, a creature capable of defeating the freakish Diaboromon. However, both of his friends' partners were at the Mega level at the time… and they were both alive, too. And what was that flickering and sparking about? "This is going to require some more research…" he finally said. "A LOT more research…"
"Well, if it's helpful, I'm all for it," Upamon said. "Paildramon's super strong!"
"We sure need it," Yolei agreed. "That woman's got way worse stuff than we thought…"
"What do you mean?" Izzy asked.
"She used TEN spires to make Okuwamon," she went on, "and that thing was too strong for anybody but Paildramon!"
Cody frowned. "Perhaps the number of spires used will alter the type of monster she creates," he reasoned.
"Okuwamon…" Izzy murmured, typing on his computer. An image of the gray bug appeared. "That's an Ultimate-level Digimon," he said. "You say ten of them made it?"
"So one makes a Champion, and ten make an Ultimate?" Patamon summarized. "Scary!"
"It could be even scarier," Izzy said gravely. "If that's true, and more spires make a stronger monster… this woman could create even stronger Spire-Born… Maybe even Mega-level."
Both TK and Kari shuddered and looked at each other. Mega-level Spire-Born… Their little band couldn't possibly fight something like that.
"Mega?" Upamon gulped. "That's, um… that's bad, isn't it?"
Even Cody looked bothered; a level above Okuwamon's sounded terrifying. "Yes," he agreed.
"But… we're getting ahead of ourselves," Izzy said, trying to reassure his young friends. "For now, we should concentrate on knocking down Control Spires. That woman can make her own, but she'll have less ammo to begin with… and if she makes any Ultimate spire-born, Paildramon can deal with them."
Yolei pouted. "Man, why does Davis always get the cool monsters?" she grouched.
She expected a retort, but none came. In fact, Davis had been oddly quiet since they had been there. Surprised, everyone turned to him. He was just staring out the window, a pensive look on his face and Chibomon on his lap. "Davis?" Izzy asked. "What's wrong?"
He hesitated, and then, realizing that he was being spoken to, turned. "Heh? Oh, nothin'," he said with a shrug. "I was just wonderin' why Ken won't join up with us… I mean, I'D want to be friends with me…"
"Again?" Cody growled. Davis's obsession with the Emperor was really getting on his nerves.
"Well…" Izzy said, "let's just wait and see what comes of that."
Chibomon smiled and bounced on to Davis's knees. "Don't worry, Davis!" he chirped. "I know Ken'll see how much fun it is around us!"
Izzy blinked, then stared at Chibomon in surprise. "You're certainly full of energy," he said.
"Yeah?" Davis asked, scratching at his ear. "Guess we have some left over still."
"I'm all geared up for dinner, that's for sure!" Chibomon laughed. "Can we have pork chops, Davis? Please?"
Izzy didn't know what to make of it. When Veemon had become Magnamon, Davis had been out cold for three days… but his Digimon had freakishly become an Ultimate-level Digimon, and he looked no worse than usual; why hadn't the new Digivolution done that?
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Uh-oh!" Upamon gulped. "Toy time!"
The Digimon all went limp as the door opened. "Izzy? Dinner's ready, and…" Yoshie Izumi started as she looked in. "Oh! You have company?"
"Uh, it's OK, Mrs. Izumi," Kari said, smiling and scooping up Gatomon. "We were all just about to leave."
"Oh. All right…" Yoshie said, then looked down at the little cat, and then at the other colorful "dolls." "Those are so cute," she said. "Izzy, didn't you have someone like that? Tentomon, right?"
Yolei, Cody and Davis looked at each other, baffled. Izzy's mother knew about Tentomon?
"Where did he go?" she asked. "I haven't seen him in a long time."
The other kids looked at him. Izzy coughed, his cheeks reddening quickly. "Well, uh…" he tried, then trailed off in an awkward laugh.
… … …
A cool autumn night claimed the Tamachi district. Ken Ichijouji lay in his warm bed, staring up at the ceiling. His mind slid back into the burning desert of the afternoon. Why had Wormmon left him? Had he abandoned him for a more compassionate human by leaping into Exveemon? A tear formed on his eye. That very well could be… He had been a horrible partner. Any other Digimon would have left much sooner.
However, could it have been something else? He blinked the tear away and turned his gaze on the far wall. Maybe it was a sign. Paildramon was strong and warmhearted. Maybe Wormmon was saying that he trusted those other children, and that he himself should, too. He groaned and sat up, staring down at the floor. He just didn't know what any of it meant. Should he continue on his path to destruction… or should he throw his lot in with the Digidestined? "Sam…" he said, looking longingly up at the ceiling, "do you trust them, too?…"
His only answer was silence. He lowered his head, feeling all too alone.
… … …
Davis muttered and grumbled as he studied the wing piece between his fingertips. He wanted to get its angle to match the picture on the model's box, but he didn't have any way to measure it, and the instructions didn't seem to consider it important. It was the first night in a while he had the time or energy to work on a plane, and he wanted to make the best of it.
"I can help, Davis!" Chibomon yipped, hopping next to the kit supplies and grabbing the little plastic-cutting knife in his mouth and swinging it around. "Ffee? I k'n k't th' psses!"
"Woah, stop! Stop!" Davis huffed, pushing his chair back from the flailing razor. "You're gonna cut someone's eye out!"
"Oh…" Chibomon said, spitting the blade out and looking disappointed. "OK…"
Davis smiled and patted the little thing. "This is work for those of us with, um, hands," he said. "Once you get back to Demiveemon, then we can keep working on it, OK?"
The door flew open with a slam, and in bounded Jun. "Hey Davis, can I borrow…" she started, then sniffed at the air. "Eww, what were you doing today? You oughta shower first or your planes will stink as bad as you!"
Davis's neck hair shot up as Chibomon froze in place, and his automatic response kicked in. "Bug off," he grumbled.
"Oh, that's nice," she teased, looking at his messy desk. "No wonder no girls want to—" her insult changed to a delighted scream, and she snatched up Chibomon. "Who's this little guy?! You bring home the sweetest toys!"
"Hey!" Davis snarled. "That's not—"
"Oh, and he's so squeezably soft!" Jun giggled, pressing the little blue critter against her chest; Chibomon's tail-like thing rose slightly. "I'll save you from this stinky room!" she said, and dashed out.
Davis could have used his head to bulldoze his new plane. "Here we go again," he groaned, sagging against the desk.
… … …
The lights continued to burn in Yolei's room. She couldn't bring herself to shut them off; the day's events replaying in her mind wouldn't allow it. She saw the diabolical woman and the Okuwamon she created. She saw legions of torn-up, undead Mekanorimon lurching towards her, followed by a roaring Warumonzaemon… Ken and his pained—but sexy—face… and then the most frightening vision of all: Mimi's smug grin, and the order to appear before her on Sunday.
She sucked in the smelly air around her and exhaled in a whiny sigh, looking over at the sleeping Poromon. Her worries used to consist only of who would be available to play online after homework; suddenly she missed those days.
… … …
As night seeped into Odaiba, all of the lights slowly went out… but one cold, pale glow remained in the Izumi residence: Izzy's computer. Though he himself slept, the locator program continued to run, scanning the unknown reaches of the new Digital World for any sign of its prey. It had been running for over a day and a half now, and other computer geniuses would worry about the damage done to their machines… but Izzy knew she could take it. She was his baby; he had absolute confidence in her.
The screen flickered, and then it beeped. Izzy shot up like he had heard a burglar and sprang into the chair. He looked over the readout and forgot to breathe. His confidence had paid off. "I did it!" he whispered. "I did it!" he exclaimed. "I DID IT!" he shouted, throwing up his arms in unbridled joy.
They had to be told! Right away! He dove for his cell phone and hit the first speed-dial button his finger touched. It rang once, then twice. "Come on, pick up! Pick up!" he laughed.
The response he got certainly wasn't what he expected. "Errgh… Who'zzis?…" Tai's sleepy voice mumbled.
"Tai!" Izzy said. "It's done!"
"Izzy?!" the voice asked, becoming angry. "For cryin' out loud, it's three in the morning!"
"That's not important!" Izzy said, unable to contain his laughter. "I did it! I found him!"
"'Him?!'" Tai snapped. "You called me at three in the freaking morning?! You found WHO?!"
"GENNAI!" Izzy exploded. "I found him! I found Gennai!"
There was a momentary silence on the line. "You call Sora," Tai said, suddenly as excited as Izzy. "I'll call Matt!"