[Well, well. It sure took me long enough to update, didn't it? I'd really like to apologize, but there's not point in making excuses when what you're really here to read is the story, right? I'll just say I'm sorry I took so long to update and I hope it didn't cost me too many readers.]
Kari nudged the bedroom door open and stepped inside. The sunlight coming through the open window was very bright that hot spring day. Stepping inside, she set down the cardboard box she was carrying and let out a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat from her brow and sat down on the box to take a moment's rest while perusing the piled boxes and assorted furniture around her. The door swung open again and there stood a man with a very large box concealing his face and chest.
"Little help?" he squeaked as his knees began to buckle.
Kari shot up to her feet of course and ran over to help him with the box. Together they placed it in the middle of the floor.
"Are you okay, Davis?" she asked.
Davis was bent over, wheezing and sweating. "No p-p-problem." He coughed and then bent back to fix his spine with an audible crack. "Man, what's in there?" he finally asked.
"Those are just my books," Kari explained.
Davis gave her an odd look with one eyebrow raised and his mouth slightly opened as if he was about to ask a question. Apparently he changed his mind at the last second though. "Well I hope there's not too much more." He wiped his face on his shirt sleeve. "It's looking pretty crowded in here as it is."
"I know; it's smaller than I remembered," Kari noted.
There was a knock at the open door and the two of them looked over. There was Kari's mother with a tray of ice-tea. "I thought you kids might like a drink."
"Thanks, mom," said Kari.
"Yeah, thanks!" Davis said with a smile, eagerly taking the glasses.
"It's not a problem. And it really is nice seeing you again, Davis. Such a handsome young man!" She smiled and turned to go. She was always a sweet woman, and even though she couldn't cook a potato without a cookbook her ice-tea was always a hit. She was starting to show her age though, as was her husband. Kari sighed. The last thing she wanted to be doing at this point in her life it was moving back in with her parents.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Davis said once he spotted her expression. "It's only going to be for a little while. You're bound to find someplace else soon, even if you do need a few roommates."
Kari rolled her eyes. "At this point I'd settle for sharing a janitor's closet with an angry badger. Are you sure I can't stay with you?"
Davis laughed. "Are you kidding? There's barely enough room for my stuff. Plus I'm getting really sick of sleeping on that couch." He cracked his spine again.
Kari smiled. "Yeah, yeah. I know…"
"Plus, I don't think having you in my bed every night is helping me get over you any faster." Davis chuckled.
Kari smiled back at him. She was actually really surprised that he was able to joke like that. No matter what he said, she knew that her staying with him had helped them both a lot. She sipped her tea as she thought. "This tea is pretty good."
"No kidding," Davis said as he sat the empty glass down on a box and wiped his mouth.
"Kari?" Mrs. Kamiya called from the living room. "Could you come out here and give your father a hand?"
Kari sighed and started to set her drink down when Davis jumped to his feet. "Don't worry, I'm on top of it. You take a breather." Before she could respond he'd dashed back out the door.
Kari smiled and leaned back to enjoy her drink for a few seconds longer. Now, it wasn't that she didn't want to go help her father, but she couldn't exactly tell Davis no. Very few people ever could, after all. A few seconds later the door was bumped open again, this time with a large box carried by two men: Davis and Mr. Kamiya. Both were sweating from the heavy lifting and the general heat, and Davis had taken his shirt off. They struggled under the box's weight as they slowly made their way to where there was still an empty spot on the floor. They finally managed to set it down with a collective grunt.
"What on Earth did you have in there, honey?" Mr. Kamiya asked with a wiped look.
"Well it couldn't be books," said Davis. "I already brought those in myself."
Kari looked away. "Actually… those are my…other…books."
The men looked stunned for a second, and then Davis laughed. Kari smiled back.
"Kari, I swear you're worse than your brother," Mr. Kamiya said with a grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I saw your mother fixing up some of that delicious ice-tea of hers." He was rubbing his back as he walked out.
Davis took his seat again. "Mind if I rest up a minute?"
"Go right ahead," she said. "And don't worry, you won't have to help me unpack all this stuff."
"Hey, what else have I got to do?"
"Don't you have a job interview?"
"It's not for a few hours."
"Well don't forget you'll need time to shower beforehand. You don't want to go in there smelling like that."
"What's wrong with how I smell?" he asked playfully.
"You stink! What do you expect?"
"Hey, c'mon." Davis leaned in with a smirk. "I don't think I stink that bad."
"Ew! Get away!" Kari laughed as she tried to shove Davis back. He laughed too as he fell, but he got right back up again. Kari laughed louder while rising to her feet to escape, but Davis came after her and wrapped her up in a big hug. They were both laughing hysterically as Kari tried to push Davis off and both of them ended up tripping over the piled boxes.
Davis wiped a tear from his eye as he rose back up and Kari stayed on the boxes, finally starting to control her laughter. Davis offered her a hand and she took it. He pulled her up to her feet with surprising strength.
"I couldn't be the only one that smells like work," Davis grinned. "I don't want everyone to think you've just been sitting around all day."
"I guess we'll both need showers now," Kari said with a big smile. "By the looks of it you're all rested up now; why don't you go grab some more boxes?"
"Oh man!" Davis said with no real malice.
"Don't worry, I'll be right down."
"Meet you there."
Davis turned around to go and at that moment Kari realized something strange had happened. She'd just spent several minutes talking to Davis' bare chest instead of his face. That wasn't like her at all. She could have written it off as nothing if it weren't for what she was doing even at that moment: watching his butt as he left the room.
"Oh my God…" she said once she was alone again.
It was high noon in the southern quadrant. The sun's rays beat down mercilessly on the mountainside town of Stonewall, a small village built on the face of a sheer cliff of gray stone. There was more greenery in this area than there was further to the south where the Great Driver Wastes lay, but at this time of day the high cliffs provided little protection from the heat. But even in such oppressive weather, the town was more active than it had been in years, possibly decades. Hundreds of digimon had passed through this tiny hub on their way south. Even at that very moment there were dozens of extra inhabitants of the town, some arriving, some departing, some following the crowds with whatever they could find to sell.
"Pardon me, but do you have any clean water?"
The shady little diner, one of the few places to eat in town, was packed. That question had come from a Tentomon on the counter. The Agumon behind the counter was busy cleaning a glass.
"Sure thing, chief. I gotta' warn ya' though, even the water ain't so cheap anymore 'round here."
"It's all right I assure you. My travel expenses are covered."
"Suit yerself boss." The Agumon wiped the glass dry on his apron. He set it aside and poured the ice-cold drink. Tentomon reached into his satchel pack and dished out the cash.
"So why're you here?" the Agumon asked as he got up on a wooden crate to hand Tentomon his water over the counter. "Ya' don't strike me as much of the fightin' type."
"Honestly, I'm not. I've been sent down here on assignment to cover what's happening. I work for a newspaper you see, and of course they had to send someone down here. Nobody wanted to take this job though and I ended up getting stuck with it."
"Tough break, cap'n."
"I don't know, maybe it's not so bad. I mean, as long as I stay away from the heat I won't get burned, right? It's not like I've never seen combat before, but to be honest I get sick thinking about going through that sort of thing again."
"So ya' think it'll be bad then?"
"It's really quite difficult to say. Even my newspaper has had a lot of trouble getting much information on just what is happening. Everyone seems to have their own reason for coming down here, so it's hard to tell how all this started. All we've got are a few sketchy details on roving bands of bad digimon, cities being wiped off the map, and orders from Omnimon."
"No kiddin'. If I'd served a drink for every different story I'd heard since all this started…oh wait, I guess I have! Ha!"
Tentomon chuckled a bit. "So I take it this has been helpful for business?"
"Are you kiddin' me, chief? There's a river of money runnin' through this town, and as a merchant I have to scoop up what money I can before it rolls right on past."
"Intriguing. I think that could make for a good article on the effect this mess is having. I bet I could get down a rough draft before I have to move out again."
"Whatever you say boss, just be sure to mention the name of this place. A little free advertising never hurt no one."
"You know, if you really want your place mentioned, you might consider giving me another water at no charge."
Agumon looked at him for a second. "You're a sneaky one, chief. But it sounds like a good enough deal to me. You're on."
Agumon went to get a second glass of water.
"Hey what's going on?" a Gotsumon asked as he looked out the window.
"Beats me," said his friend, another Gotsumon.
Tentomon turned to see what they were checking out. At first he couldn't see anything, but it looked like there was more activity than normal down where a lot of the traveling digimon were coming and going.
"That's weird," the first Gotsumon commented. "What are those things?"
"I've never seen digimon like those before."
Tentomon's interest was really piqued now. He looked out the window more intently than before.
"Here's yer water, boss. Now, about that—"
"Does that seem strange to you?" asked Tentomon, motioning with his claw.
"Hmm… Does look a bit busier than before."
Suddenly several of the digimon in the crowd were tossed high into the air and the crowd went into a flurry. The strange digimon the Gotsumon had commented on began charging through the crowd, tossing or trampling anyone that got in their way.
"What the hell…?"
"Stay here!" Tentomon ordered. He hopped off his stool and flew out the door. Now outside, he could hear the sounds of battle quite clearly. The crowd was in an uproar, too disorganized to fight off the strange, low-bodied digimon that had attacked. Tentomon quickly landed and reached into his satchel. He pulled out a small, thick book and began flipping through its pages rapidly, looking up sporadically to try to get a better view of the attacking digimon.
"Okay," he said to himself. "They're quadrupeds with…red skin and…yellow stripes. Low profile." He flipped through the book faster. "Some kind of large metal or bone mask with horns. What looks like blue tusks and…a green furry tail." He finally found what he was looking for in his book. At the top of the page was a picture of the digimon, and the words below it identified them as Setmon. They were armor digimon with compact bodies and nasty attitudes. Difficult to attack from the front because of the excellent defense of their masks and their powerful charges. Fortunately for Tentomon, they weren't too bright. He returned the book to his bag and slipped it off his shoulder. "Tentomon, digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"
The crowd was in a state of panic. Everyone was too busy trying to get out of the way to fight back. The Setmon just kept on charging, occasionally drilling their tusks into a fleeing victim while stepping on someone else's head with their heavy feet. Some chose to dash into a group, thrash around a bit and then pounce on someone trying to get away. Just as one of the Setmon was leaping through the air toward a terrified Mamemon, Kabuterimon laid him out with a strong kick straight down onto his back. The Setmon staggered back to his feet a moment later and shook his head like a dog. He spotted Kabuterimon in front of him and snarled. Kabuterimon landed while the digimon around him were finally able to move away. The Setmon charged and Kabuterimon braced himself for impact. As the Setmon sailed toward him, Kabuterimon raised all four hands up, catching onto the beast at the last second. Still, the Setmon's inertia was too much for Kabuterimon to resist and he and the Setmon were both sent tumbling back over several fleeing digimon before finally coming to a stop on the ground outside the crowd. Kabuterimon found himself on his back at the end of that last roll with the Setmon on top of him, fighting tooth-and-nail against Kabuterimon's iron grip. It clawed, twisted and bucked in every possible way it could to break Kabuterimon's hold, which was unfortunately starting to weaken. He couldn't exactly use his Electro-Shocker at the moment, all his hands were busy and his wings were pinned beneath him. Kabuterimon took the last option left to him. He pulled back his head as far as he could and then slammed his tough horn forward right onto the Setmon's forehead. The creature stopped fighting back and Kabuterimon loosened his grip. The Setmon stumbled back for a few seconds before collapsing with a grunt.
At that moment the three remaining Setmon all turned their attention away from the carnage and focused their small, yellow eyes on Kabuterimon alone. They charged Kabuterimon with a collective roar. He immediately rose to his feet and employed his Electro-Shocker, firing at the middle one. The creature lowered its head and Kabuterimon's attack merely grazed off its sturdy helmet. With only a few seconds before they were all over him, Kabuterimon did the only thing he could think of: he zipped straight up into the sky. The Setomon all skidded to a halt below him, trying to jump up, gnashing their teeth and pawing the ground.
"Ha!" Kabuterimon laughed. "You can't fight what you can't catch!"
"Corona Blaster!"
"Wha—"
Before Kabuterimon could even turn to see where the voice had come from a powerful attack hit him right in the center of his back and shoved him forward so hard that he hit and skidded along the ground, leaving a trail of dirt and crushed rock behind him. Above, a humanoid digimon with great black wings sneered. Beating his wings slower, he gradually descended to the ground. As soon as his steel-toed boots touched the gray rock he folded his black-feathered wings behind him. With his black leather outfit, purple mask, three green eyes and fearsomely-large gun, it was immediately apparent that he was no ordinary digimon. The three Setmon ran to him, standing around him as if awaiting his command. The crowd of digimon quieted and formed a large circle, giving the newcomer plenty of room.
"Listen up!" he shouted. "Da name's Beelzemon, and I got a message fer you measly mooks! Da boss knows what's up here! He knows what yer plannin', and he ain't got no problem with it! If you all get together and attack, you'll just die that much quicker. Run away and he'll get ya eventually. Your choice."
"Just who do you think you are?!" a Garurumon in the crowd demanded.
Beelzemon scowled and raised his gun. "Corona Blaster!" He fired, hitting the Garurumon right between the eyes. It fell over backwards with serious burns all over its face. "I'm yer worst nightmare."
"Doesn't sound like much of an ultimatum, Beelzemon," Kabuterimon said as he rose to his feet again.
"It ain't," Beelzemon replied with a sneer. "It's a warning."
"How thoughtful."
"Well I got a warning for you," a Triceramon said as he stepped forward. "Don't underestimate us! Charge!"
The Triceramon took aim with his horns and lunged while the dozens of other digimon all let loose with their own attacks. Beelzemon only smiled as he lifted his weapon again, this time tracing out a large glowing pentagram in the air in front of him. He finished quickly and a glowing design radiated out from the central figure. At that moment the attacks began slamming into the pentagram, only to be absorbed by it. Beelzemon then raised his weapon again, aiming right for the oncoming Triceramon even as attacks continued to rain down on his strange shield. "Corona Destroyer!"
Kabuterimon saw the whole thing. He saw Beelzemon's whole body tense up, his wings go taut, his grin spread into a maniacally gleeful smile, and his fingers squeeze the trigger. The dark bolt of energy discharged from his gun and went into the pentagram, which glowed and then amplified the attack thousands of times over. It was all Kabuterimon could do to dive out of the way before the immense pillar of light discharged from the pentagram and swallowed up everything in its path. He tried to lay low and keep his head covered, but there was no escape from the overpowering heat and the haunting light. The Triceramon, the Garurumon, and almost every last digimon in the crowd with the exception of a few that had escaped like Kabuterimon were all slaughtered.
A few seconds later as the light died down, Kabuterimon began to hear another sound: the sound of laughter. It was Beelzemon, laughing so hard it brought tears to his eyes. The Setmon behind him were likewise chuckling like hyenas. Kabuterimon, even in his dazed state, could see Beelzemon drawing in data like a magnet. The path of devastation went on for miles; the attack had annihilated everything in its way, everything.
"They made their choice," Beelzemon said as he finally calmed himself. "I wonder what the others will choose. Boys!" The Setmon looked up. "Home!" The three Setmon quickly turned and started to run to the south. "Make yer peace today, 'cause I'll have yer heads tomorrow."
He spread his black wings and with one motion leapt high into the air. He was gone just as suddenly as he'd arrived. Beelzemon was finally what he wanted to be: powerful, feared, and without a shred of hesitation, doubt or mercy.
Lucemon's eyes opened. "Come in, children," he said calmly.
Angemon and Angewomon entered into Lucemon's chamber. Angewomon was quite impressed, and even Angemon still held onto some of the awe of seeing the inner sanctum. "You called for us?" Angemon finally asked.
"Yes."
"What is it?" asked Angewomon. "Has something happened? Is it time to make our move?"
"Thou art too hasty, child. All is still being prepared."
"Then what is it?"
"I fear many lives were just now lost among those that would resist the Destroyer."
"What?" asked Angemon.
"What happened?" Angewomon asked.
"An attack by one of those in his Demon Corps. Many lives were lost."
"Only one?" asked Angewomon. "If just one can do such a thing…"
"Thy concerns are well-founded. Alack, I fear this is only a sign of what is to come. I have felt a shift in the beast's power; already three of his ilk have moved on to other parts of the Digital World, expanding the Destroyer's territory greatly. This evil is no longer contained. Soon it may devour everything it doth touch."
"So instead of just one seat of power to go after there's four?!" asked Angemon.
"The problem is indeed multiplied, but the foremost objective must be the removal of the serpent's head, without which the body must die."
"But now it's not just the Destroyer. If this other demon stays close to him we'll have all the more trouble."
"What thou say'st is only possible, not inevitable. The Destroyer is a seasoned veteran of centuries of battles; he shall keep his least trustworthy servants at arm's length."
"So you think this demon might not be as loyal to his master as we think?"
"All demon digimon are loyal to him—it is in their very blood—but even the strongest bonds are not unbreakable. Thou may'st recall that the Destroyer himself was once bound to Protomon heart and soul when he was Seraphimon, yet even that was shattered. The demon of which we speak is particularly open to becoming free of that bond, but it will still be very difficult."
"It's better than nothing," said Angemon. "Still, there's no telling what else the Destroyer will have defending him when we go to fight."
"Don't forget we'll have a few strong allies ourselves," said Angewomon. "Omnimon, the old gang, and of course Lucemon here."
"And thus do we come to the next matter at hand," said Lucemon.
Angemon and Angewomon gave him an inquisitive look.
"Since learning of the dangers lurking in the south, many of my children here hath spoken of going to face it themselves. It is precisely because of what has happened just now that I have sought so hard to keep them here. Even the strongest here, like Goldramon, have approached with the desire to travel to the creature's lair, to stand by my side in the battle. I have convinced all to remain in this sanctuary, save one."
"Who?" asked Angewomon.
"Dost thou remember when I told thee of the Destroyer's history? How he was once a great soldier of Protomon?"
"Of course," said Angemon.
"He was made evil by his hatred, but it is the way of this world to maintain a harmony between the light and the dark, the good and the evil. As the Destroyer was once of the light and reborn in the shadows, another was forged in the darkness and only later purified in Protomon's light. He was the Destroyer's opposite, the yin to his yang. His stubbornness will keep him strong against any attempts of persuasion, even by me. Thus, he is resolved to face the Destroyer's legions at my side."
"That I shall," a booming voice called out from the far side of the room.
All three angels turned to look at the speaker. Lucemon remained as calm as ever, but Angemon and Angewomon were filled with awe at the sight of this strange digimon. He was humanoid, stood over ten feet high and was some kind of angel digimon, but unlike any other they'd ever seen. His single pair of wings were made from chrome-digizoid and the feathers were long and blade-like. He wore chrome digizoid plate armor over his chest and shoulders. His lower torso, his neck and his upper arms were protected by tightly-wrapped leather belts with a row of buckles running down his stomach. throat and each arm. Below the waist he wore a pair of very baggy, light-gray pants with a blue bolt of cloth hanging down both in front and in back. It came to a triangular point at both ends and was embroidered with gold designs. Just above his feet were more buckles leading down to a pair of black shoes with a splash of red on top and blades jutting from the heel and sides. By far the most unusual feature of this digimon were his arms. Below the elbow his arms were huge metal blades with strips of blue paint on the broad sides, again decorated with gold. With his arms hanging like that, the slightly-curved blades very nearly touched the floor. He showed about as much of his face as most angel digimon; only his chin and mouth were visible with the rest being covered by a chrome-digizoid helmet. There was a narrow slit across the helmet for him to see through, and topping off the helmet was a horn-like blade coming from the forehead. The digimon's spiked blue hair could be seen coming out the back of his helmet.
"I am GuardiAngemon, the steel saint," he announced in a loud, clear voice. "You may rest assured that I always have been and forever shall be prepared to strike at the beast whenever it crawls out from under its rock."
"GuardiAngemon is nearly as old as I," Lucemon explained. "It was when he was reborn as a digimon of light that he did take it upon himself to hunt down digimon that had been corrupted, the Destroyer in particular."
"I have always preferred to think of it as releasing them from their curse, my lord."
"GuardiAngemon, thou hast been my protector and compatriot since before this city was even founded. Thine eyes hath borne witness to the ebb and flow of the powers that be in this world. Thou truly art stubborn, if thou dost still believe any good may come from killing."
"And you are no less stubborn for always holding to your pacifism, lord. It may have been ages ago that I was consumed by an evil spirit, but I can remember precisely how it felt. I know from experience that 'tis better to embrace death than evil. At least there are young digimon like them that have the will and means to fight when they are most needed."
"Mine will to fight should be obvious, and mine will to kill is equally strong but oppositely oriented. My purpose is the preservation of all things, life being the foremost."
"Fighting and death are no more separable than life and death! Life must invariably come to death, and thus if you think your purpose is to preserve life then your purpose is futile!"
There was a moment of silence. Finally, Lucemon smiled just a little bit. "I have always enjoyed thy company, GuardiAngemon. Thy wit remains as sharp as thy tongue."
"I can only hope my blades are half as sharp," GuardiAngemon replied with a grin.
"Angemon. Angewomon. Thou shouldst place as much faith in him as thou hast in me. We four shall depart together in one fortnight. Learn whatever Goldramon may teach thee in that short time. Now go, children. I must speak a moment longer with GuardiAngemon."
"Yes, Lord Lucemon," Angemon and Angewomon replied together before turning quickly and leaving.
"Now…" Lucemon said as he again turned to GuardiAngemon. "What dost thou make of this new demon in the Destroyer's service?"
"Of course I make it my business to keep an eye on all powerful digimon, my lord," GuardiAngemon replied formally. "He first came to my attention some years ago when he was inducted into the service of Zhuqiamon. Before that he was unsuccessfully paired with humans in the southern Earth and after his service to the Sovereign ended he played a significant role in combating the D-Reaper on that same Earth. Since then he has spent most of the decade as an aimless drifter, almost universally feared."
"So dost thou believe the Destroyer's influence is entirely to blame for his new status?"
"Hardly. Even while serving Zhuqiamon he was extremely dangerous and cruel, taking the lives of almost any digimon he came in contact with, including two of the Devas. Prior to that his destructive potential was greatly handicapped by his weak form, but he still reportedly demonstrated extremely hostile tendencies. I believe the predispositions of his demonic form coupled with his own sinister propensities made the job an easy one for the Destroyer. No more than a slight nudge would have been needed to push this 'Beelzemon' into working directly for him. And we must not forget the innate influence the Destroyer is said to have over all demon digimon."
"Well-spoken. Can he be saved?"
"To be honest, I would not be surprised to learn that Beelzemon volunteered to join the Destroyer."
"And thou must hunt him down?"
"He may not have been a saint, but he was not truly evil. That is different now, and so it is my duty to put a stop to him. I will not apologize for doing the right thing."
"And if he can still be turned back?"
"I assure you, that is too much to hope for."
"I see."
"Anything more, lord?"
"Only this: remember that Beelzemon will not be the greatest threat for us to face. Do not place yourself in jeopardy by fighting him while the Destroyer is yet to be slain."
"I understand."
"Then please, leave me for now. I am growing weary."
GuardiAngemon nodded and walked toward the exit. When he left the chamber and found the doors closing behind him, he saw Angemon and Angemon, apparently waiting.
"Yes?" he asked.
"That wasn't much of an introduction back there," Angemon explained, "so we figured we'd introduce ourselves personally." Angemon extended his hand, but quickly pulled it back when he remembered that GuardiAngemon was shorthanded, so to speak.
"I'm Angewomon and this is Angemon. We come from the east and we were once DigiDestined digimon. I'm not sure what you've heard about us, but—"
"I don't need to hear your résumé," said GuardiAngemon. "Lord Lucemon has already told me who you are, just as he told you who I am. I appreciate your courtesy, but there really are more important things you could be doing with your time."
GuardiAngemon bowed slightly and Angewomon repeated the motion. GuardiAngemon then turned his gaze to Angemon.
"You don't trust me," GuardiAngemon sent rather bluntly.
"What?" asked Angemon.
"I can see it."
"Well if you're going to press it, then no. I just met you, and if I'm going to fight alongside someone I want to know them well enough first to trust them."
"There's more to it than that. You don't trust a turncoat. I can't blame you for that though. I am fully aware of the paradox in my dedicating my life to killing traitors like the Destroyer when I myself am a traitor to the other side. If I were you I wouldn't trust me either."
"I've always believed actions speak louder than words," said Angemon. "Your siding with the good guys rather than digimon like the Destroyer gives me some hope, but I'll only trust you when I see you fighting the Destroyer at my side."
"Likewise."
It hadn't been the best introduction in history, and the circumstances of this meeting hadn't exactly helped. Still, it seemed that while there was a powerful new enemy to look out for, there was a powerful new ally to rely upon.
