X::::::::X change of scenes -- beginning and ending of flashbacks and dreams (^_^) (-_-) end of chapter
Kaito: Hey, guys! Merry Christmas!!
Everyone: PRESENTS!
Kaito: Anyway, before presents, how about someone does the Disclaimer.
Takuya: Kaito, why don't you do it?
Koji: Yeah, it's your story.
Zoe: You haven't done it in forever.
JP & Tommy: And we want our presents!
Kaito: Whoever does it gets to opens theirs first.
Everyone: Kaito Lune doesn't own Digimon or any references in this chapter!
Arc 3: Final Act
Chapter 25: Monster
"How about you shut up," Astrummon said. She stood up. "Slide Evolution!" The rush of overwhelming power seemed to spin out of control. Nazu desperately tried keeping it in and not taking over but it was too strong.
Astrummon became a reindeer with a shaggy brown-grey coat, yellow eyes, and gold antlers. She wore a deep purple boots and armor along her back. A red harness with a silver bell hung around her neck. Almost no humanness was left, just a blinding rage of a beast.
It made an angry unidentifiable noise before swerving her horns so that they were over her face. "Asteroid Impale!" Rangifmon cried. It raced forwards, the metal antlers glowing white, and tried ramming into NeoEstedomon's head.
She lifted her head but the hot rods pierced the snake's lower belly. NeoEstedomon shrieked out in pain. Rangifmon jerked her head away while roaring. "Nebula Break!" She roared. The bell on her neck rung and yellow plasma wing-like shapes formed on her back. With a wild cry, the plasma wings shattered like a mirror and flew towards the basilisk.
They hit the snake and the crystals, which shattered and exploded. Rangifmon continued the onslaught with the plasma wings or switching to the horns crashing into rock walls or crystals when it missed the snake. Meanwhile on the inside, Nazu was fighting an uphill battle to gain control of herself.
How had the others done it before? Whatever was holding her back was too strong to break free from. It constricted her, unable to move towards the supreme consciousness no matter the amount of struggle she made. Secretly, she was glad that no one was nearby to watch her loose control. It would allow her to pummel Rin into the next century.
Rangifmon rushed again. "Venom Spit!" She spat the acid venom at Rangifmon. The charging Digimon stopped and flinched. NeoEstedomon smirked and began wrapping herself around the reindeer Digimon. Rangifmon was then constricted like her human consciousness.
"Sssso, thisss isss why you didn't want to ussse your Ultimate evolution?" hissed NeoEstedomon. "What power. Too bad you will loosse it before you learn to control it, cousssin." NeoEstedomon began squeezing the Digimon. Rangifmon cried shrilly.
X::::::::X
The twelve Human children found themselves standing in a dark area with no defined ceiling or walls. The floor they stood on was a mirror. "Everyone!" shouted Takuya.
"Takuya! Koji! Tommy!" cried Zoe, rushing towards the others with Kotone in tow.
Koichi had landed on the ground with Rokuro landing next to him, still zonked out. Hiroto rushed to his adopted brother. "Rokuro!" the boy shouted. The others had crowded behind the two. Koji stood next to Koichi.
"How are you?" Koji asked his twin.
"I'm fine," he answered. "How about you?"
"Alive, aren't I?" the younger twin said with a half grin.
"Looks like almost everyone's here," JP observed. "But where's Nazu?"
At that moment, a shrill cry caught all the humans' attentions. "What was that?" shouted Shinya.
"I hope that wasn't who I think it was," Zoe said to herself.
"Was that Nazu?" Koichi said worriedly, looking towards where the noise had come from. Getting worried about your girlfriend? Duskmon taunted. "Shut up," Koichi muttered to himself.
"I didn't say anything," Koji said. "What's wrong?"
Koichi looked towards his brother. "Just a bad feeling," he answered, running off. The other Digidestined looked towards each other and decided to follow.
"Hey, where are you going?" shouted Noburu after them.
"A friend needs our help," Tommy answered over his shoulder.
"You guys stay here!" Takuya instructed them.
The six ran. It must have had something to do with Nazu; that much they knew. It must've been Nazu in her Beast Spirit, Koichi thought. If that was the case, he hoped that she had control; he didn't want to have to fight his friend. He picked up his speed. The others picked up their speed.
Takuya looked at JP. "That didn't sound like a human cry, did it?"
JP shook his head. "It sounded like some sort of animal. I'm thinking Nazu must have found her Beast Spirit," he said.
"Then why didn't she talk to us about it?" Takuya asked. JP shrugged.
They finally came to a giant mirror with some sort of symbol on it. They assumed that this was where the noise came from. "Now what?" asked Tommy. Just then, the mirror exploded into pieces. Two figures faded into existence. One was a reindeer in armor and the other was a blond haired girl.
"Nazu?" asked Koji towards the Digimon. Hearing the human's voice, Rangifmon turned towards the six with murderous yellow eyes. The reindeer made an angry unidentifiable noise before charging.
The six jumped out of the way, pulling out their D-tectors. The Warriors of Flame, Wind, Ice, Thunder, Darkness, and Light quickly Beast Spirit, Spirit Evolved, or Fusion Evolved and surrounded Rangifmon. They didn't give any comments on any of them attaining their Mega Hybrid forms. JagerLoewemon stood behind the ring.
"Nazu, are you there?" Beetlemon asked. "Is this your Beast Spirit?"
"We've been through trying to control our Beast Spirits before," Beowulfmon said. "You have to gain control."
"Nazu, we're your friends," JetSilphymon and Kumamon said in a concerned voice. "We want to help you."
Friends. That word seemed to break through to her. If they're friends, why are they standing in Digimon forms? It didn't seem to make sense. She made a high pitch noise and summoned the plasma wings and the shards at the Digimon. The six shot attacks to destroy the shards or blocked them with their weapons.
Rangifmon rushed towards Beowulfmon with her antlers burning hotly. He used his forked bladed sword to catch her in the opening between the blades. He tossed her across the ground. She skidded on her side.
She stood up and rushed at them again. Kumamon raced forwards and blew a cold breeze that froze her feet in place.
"Nazu!" JagerLoewemon said in a soft voice, stepping forwards unarmed. "What are you doing? Don't you remember us?" The Void Beast looked at him with murderous eyes. "Don't you remember me, Nazu? It's me Koichi."
The words didn't seem to affect her. She snorted and broke free of the icy holds, charging again. She raced towards JetSilphymon who blocked her with her pinwheel. She skidded slightly. JetSilphymon jerked her weapon sideways to let her loose before jumping into the air.
"Nazu, we're your friends," they tried again. "We're trying to help you."
"You have gain control of yourself," Koichi said. "Do you want to hurt us? Do you want to destroy us like you did the ruins when you first got your Beast Spirit?" Beowulfmon and the others looked at JagerLoewemon. Since when did he know she had her Beast Spirit and why didn't he tell the rest of them?
Everyone stood waiting for something to happen. Everyone stood in anticipation, waiting for the next move. Rangifmon seemed to go docile for it took a slow step forward; two, three. Then the murderous look returned. Rangifmon tossed her head in agony, rising on her hind legs and then began running.
Nazu doesn't have control, Koji thought. We might have to knock her back down. The hybrids jumped out of the way as the crazed Digimon weaved in between them. On the inside, two opposing sides clashed. Her human self tried fighting against the restraints that she had allowed to slip over her during battle with Rin. It was an uphill battle but she fought harder, remembering why she didn't want to use her Beast Spirit in the first place.
Someone help! I-I don't want to be this! She struggled, remembering the people that she was beginning to see as friends, the people who she trusted. They're here. I don't want to . . .
Rangifmon came to a stop and bowed her head towards the ground. The others stood back, surprised by the sudden sereneness that had taken over Rangifmon. It was a minute before Aldamon walked towards her slowly. JagerLoewemon followed close behind, turning into Loewemon.
"You okay, Nazu?" asked Aldamon in a quiet voice.
"Run," she warned, sounding afraid. Aldamon bent down closer and asked her to repeat it. "Run," she answered in a low growl. At that moment, Rangifmon spun around on her hind legs, startling the Hybrid enough to make him lose his balance.
Her antlers swiveled around and she began charging towards Loewemon, who was right behind Aldamon, colliding with him right in the solar plexus. The hot horns didn't do much but dent the armor but Koichi still felt the wind knocked out of him.
He collapsed to the ground and the others surrounded her, ready to attack. Beowulfmon went to his brother. "Koichi, are you okay?" he asked.
"Been better," he said, while trying to catch his breath.
"Are you okay". The words repeated in her mind. No! He's hurt! He's hurt! I-I can't-! Rangifmon screamed, tossing her head from side to side. She slammed her head into the ground. The Beast Hybrid de-evolved into the human girl. Her head was pressed against the ground and she was sobbing.
This was a new look for Nazu, who had always been straight faced or sour but always confident. Seeing her cry gave her a look of a scared child. No one knew exactly what to say. They turned back into their human forms.
Koji helped Koichi up and the two walked over to Nazu. Koichi bent down and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's over," he said. "It's alright."
She looked at him, biting her lip to keep it from quivering and tears streaming down her face. Koichi's heart seemed to drop and bit his own lip. "Don't worry," he assured her. "It isn't your fault."
Nazu shook her head. "I-I," she began but fell silent and bowed her head.
Zoe and Takuya walked closer. "Why didn't you tell us about the Beast Spirit?" Takuya asked. Zoe elbowed him and shook her head. The goggle-head grimaced. "We all had some problems with our Beast Spirits."
"Yeah," agreed Koji, JP, Zoe, and Tommy.
"It was hard controlling it but we managed to control them," JP added. "But we learned and you can too. It just takes a little time." It still didn't help Nazu at all.
"Let's go," Takuya said. "The ex-Tainted Warriors are probably wondering what's taking us so long."
At that moment, there was a moan. They looked over and saw the blond was getting up. Rin rubbed her head and looked at the humans. "Who are you?" she asked. Rin noticed the vulnerable Nazu. "Oh, cousin, what's wrong?" Her voice was mocking.
Zoe took two steps towards Rin and glared at her. "How about you leave her alone? She's been through a lot."
"Yeah, with the divorce and being backstabbed," Rin laughed slightly. "That just makes it so much more fun." Everyone glared at Rin.
"Are you inconsiderate or something?" JP shouted.
"Nazu's just weak, don't bother with h-." SMACK! Rin held her cheek and glared up at Zoe. "What the hell?" she demanded.
"You're such a b!tch aren't you?!" Zoe said in a threatening calm voice. "If she's weak, you're even weaker." The Italian blond stormed back to the group. They beckoned Nazu to get up and began leaving. Rin gritted her teeth and got up to follow.
X::::::::X
With all seven Tainted Warriors and all seven Legendary Warriors in the same area, the reunion wasn't the prettiest. Kotone, Silver, and Noburu glared at her as she made a snide remark towards Shinya. Even though Takuya only met her, he hated her guts for making fun of his brother and Zoe wanted to smack her again.
There was a cackle from above. The fourteen looked up to see a Witchmon on a broom. "If it isn't the boy from before," she laughed. "How's your betrayed been treating you?"
Takuya glared up at the spell casting Digimon. "What do you want?" shouted Kotone.
"Just your Spirits," she answered. "Aquaria Pressure!" Freezing water shot towards them but a book appeared out of nowhere at their feet.
"Pandora Dialogue," said a calm voice. The book absorbed it and a second later, sent the exact attack back at Witchmon.
"A Mercurymon rip off?" Takuya asked out loud.
A figure in a cloak rose out of the book holding a red orb and a yellow orb in each of his hands. Zoe recognized him. "Hey! It's you from before!" she shouted. "You're that Wisemon who gave me the Crest!"
The six other Digidestined looked up at Wisemon. The demon Digimon turned his head back to them. "Wind Warrior, you activated the Crest," he said. "And you fulfilled the payment at the same time."
"Huh?" Zoe asked. "The payment? What was it?"
Wisemon chortled. "You saved the human," he said. "You and the rest paid the payment." He turned back towards Witchmon. "Why don't you kids run off and head that way to take care of Daemon and Lilithmon?"
"You can take her?" asked Tommy.
"Of course, since I'm an Ultimate after all," Wisemon answered. "Once I finish off Witchmon, I'll take the ex-Tainted Warriors to the closest Trailmon station." The six of the seven Legendary Warriors nodded.
Koichi noticed the still depressed look on Nazu's face. "Nazu, are you alright?" he asked.
"I can't go with you guys," she said. "I can only turn into Astrummon and you all have new forms. I'll only be a hindrance."
"But you're part of this team," Takuya said. "And we'll need as much help as we can get." Nazu shook her head.
"Just leave her," Rin said, shrugging. "She won't be any use to anyone." Kotone shot her a glare.
"You can learn how to control it," Zoe encouraged. "It took Takuya and Koji a couple of times to get it down. Maybe whatever number this is is the charm?" Nazu looked at her and back at the ground.
"Look, are you coming or not?" JP asked. "You have to learn to use the Spirit. Just remember you're the one in control, not it. The Digital World needs protecting and this is no time to freeze up. Think about what you want to protect and keep it in mind and then take a leap of faith."
Nazu looked at JP with the sad frown. "There is something you want to protect, right?" Nazu nodded.
"Enough of this!" commanded Witchmon angrily. She waved her hands around in the air. "I've been sitting here for a month! Let's just get to it!"
"Are you sure you want to rush?" Wisemon asked. "I'm sure you don't want to be stuck somewhere for eternity."
"What do you mean, Wisemon?" Witchmon inquired. "You can't touch a hair on my head since the Witchelny council hasn't commanded you too."
From under the hood, Wisemon smiled. "'On the decree of the Witchelny Council in the Sky Terminal, you are sentence to a determined amount of time till your actions can be properly judged and punished.'" Witchmon's eyes widened and she began spitting spells and low curses while firing freezing water at the lot of them. Wisemon easily us sent them back at her and pulled out a crystal orb that looked like one that would be worn around a Phantommon's neck.
"Eternal Nirvana!" he shouted. There was a flash of blinding red light; the fourteen humans covered their eyes. The humans looked around and they saw Witchmon was nowhere in sight.
"Where'd she go?" Noburu asked.
Wisemon showed them the crystal. Inside the iris, they could see a miniature Witchmon banging on the walls of the sphere prison. They could her shouted threats and they all couldn't help but laugh.
Their merriment was short-lived as a sudden earthquake shook the ground, sending them to their knees. Starlted, Wisemon jerked his head off in a different direction. "This isn't good," he stated.
"What is it?" the Chosen asked.
Wisemon looked back at them. "The seven Anti-Crests are combining," he told them. "Lilithmon and Daemon are planning on using them to open the dimensions. This isn't going according to the Book."
"The book?" asked Rokuro and Hiroto.
Wisemon turned back towards them. "You have to destroy those Anti-Crests before they swallow the Digital World and Human World into the Dark Area. No one on any side will survive if they continue. I'll take the rest of the Humans back to a Trailmon station so they're out of the way."
"But we can fight!" shouted Shinya. "We're able to Evolve into Digimon just like Takuya and his friends!"
"You lost it when your Fractal Codes were scanned," Wisemon explained. "You must get out of here before a Hellmouth opens up here and the Digital World is gone. This place is a part of the Dark Area but it's able to sustain Fractal Codes of Digimon and Humans. You must be quick and destroy it before it opens a portal to the Human World."
The seven Digidestined nodded. They Spirit Evolved, Beast Spirit Evolved, Fusion Spirit Evolved into Aldamon, Beowulfmon, JetSiphymon, JagerLoewemon, Kumamon, Beetlemon, and Astrummon. They moved quickly towards the direction that Wisemon pointed them in. "It's a huge building around," Wisemon told them. "You won't miss it."
And he was right; the building was something like Parthenon in Greece but it was run down and practically fallen apart. A big gapping hole was on the one side of the building as if some giant attack had blown that end apart.
"Well, this is it," Aldamon said, "the end of our journey."
"The final battle, eh?" Beetlemon said. "Something about this battle of ours seems never ending."
"Yin-Yang, JP," said Koji. "Where there is evil, there is good."
"Ready, guys?" asked JetSilphymon.
"As ready as ever," replied the rest of the gang. Kumamon, Beetlemon, and JagerLoewemon Fusion Evolved into their Mega forms and stood ready. Astrummon felt slightly at a disadvantage. Everyone else had a new form yet she couldn't even control her own Beast Spirit.
Reichmon looked at Astrummon. "Don't worry, just remember JP's advice," he said. "We'll be able to handle you if you remember what you want to protect."
Astrummon nodded. The seven took one last calming breath to settle their jumping nerves and began heading towards their final battle.
(^_^) (-_-)
Terriermon: N-Nazu's a reindeer? (laughs) Why didn't they just Fusion Spirit Evolve?
Kaito: I know it sounds funny and all but, hey, it's a constellation that hasn't been used at all in any Digimon franchise yet. She was originally a winged horse (based on Pegasus) but chucked it since there are two winged horse Digimon. Rangifmon is based on a no longer used constellation. I actually like it. ^-^ Reindeer are just as scary as rabbits but they still scare the ever living crap out of Anya (from BtVS). Go figure. They just had and it took a bit out of them. Six Beast Spirits versus one will still kick the one's butt because of shear numbers and power.
Terriermon: (laughs) Still it's funny, but she can kick enough butt. It's even cooler that that low-life got smacked!!
Kaito: (grins stupidly) She's had it coming since Misery Business and Hospital Community Service. This time, Zoe deals punishment! Hell, yeah!
Digimon Scanner
Name: Rangifmon
Class: Hybrid
Type: Mammal
Attribute: Data
Field: Nature Spirit
Finishing Move: Asteroid Impale