DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Celebrate
Thursday 18th November – 2:23a.m.
Ashlands, Sovereign Level
I feel…strange. Where…am I? Steph thought as she looked around at her surroundings, finding herself floating inside a transparent white ball that was surrounded by darkness, red gridlines imposed on the black expanse. At the same time, however, she could see the Ashlands of Zhuqiaomon's realm overlaid on her vision. I can see…how is this possible? What's happening?
"We have merged," the familiar, awestruck voice of Hawkmon said softly in her ear and the girl span around, seeing nothing but more darkness.
"Where are you? And how can you be reading my thoughts?" she asked with more than a hint of confusion. "And where am I?"
"I am in the Ashlands, as are you, in a way. We have somehow merged into one being – my Mega form of Valdurmon."
"How…why…"
"I do not know, but perhaps we should save the questions until later. We have a Sovereign to defeat."
As the bird spoke, Steph realized that he sounded different than normal – he sounded much more confident, less shy than he usually did. As this realization washed over her, a second, larger epiphany struck the girl.
"I'm not afraid either," she whispered to herself. "That's why I feel so…weird. I'm not even a little nervous. It's been so long, I can't remember a time when I wasn't scared or nervous about something, and…WHY AM I NAKED IN HERE?"
"You think you have it bad, you're looking at the inside of my DigiCore! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?"
Hub Level – 10:23a.m.
"She's waking up!" Steph heard a voice call out as she stirred, opening her eyes with a groan. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"Whoa, déjà vu," the blonde-haired girl mumbled as she found herself looking at the smiling face of Henry Wong. "What happened? Did we get away?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Henry gasped with an incredulous look.
"I'm guessing from the look on your face that my dream about turning into a giant bird with a halo made out of rainbows was a little bit more than a dream…"
"Damn straight!" Terriermon chuckled from his Tamer's shoulder. "You totally kicked Zhuqiaomon's butt!"
"No, we didn't," Steph muttered and glanced away. "We didn't even scratch him – all we did was stun him for a few seconds."
"And save our lives in the process," Rika noted with a small smile as she approached the taller girl's sleeping bag. "If it wasn't for you and Hawkmon, we probably wouldn't be here right now."
"How is Hawkmon? Is he…?"
"He woke up about twenty minutes ago," the redhead replied. "He's just gone to get some food – he said he'd bring some back for you, too. Oh, that reminds me – I think this is yours."
Steph's eyes went wide as Rika handed her a D-Arc with a white ring around the screen. "Is this…does this mean…?"
"I don't see how this can possibly be a surprise after yesterday," Hawkmon chuckled quietly as he stepped into the cave with an armful of bread and fruit. "How are you feeling, Tamer?"
"Okay, I guess," the blonde-haired girl replied. "Pretty much everything after blasting Zhuqiaomon is a blur, though."
"Same here. I'm not surprised, really – we put nearly all of our power into that one attack."
"Which explains why you both ended up taking an extended nap," Terriermon giggled.
"Uh, how long were we out?" Steph asked her new partner. "What day is it?"
"It's Thursday – don't worry, we were only out for about eight hours."
"Phew…" she sighed. "So, is everyone okay?"
"A few cuts and bruises, Kazu has one hell of a headache and is giving everyone else one complaining…" Ryo chuckled as he approached with his partner. "Oh, and Cyberdramon got busted back to Monodramon here."
"Hi!" the little purple dragon greeted her cheerfully.
"Is that really Cyberdramon?" Hawkmon asked with an open-mouthed stare. "But he's so…so…"
"Cheerful?" Monodramon offered with a grin.
"Yeah, his personality's pretty different depending on what level he's at," his Tamer explained. "Don't ask why – we're not sure ourselves."
"So, what's the plan?" Steph asked as she sat up and started digging into the plateful of fruits provided by Hawkmon.
"Well, you two managed to fly us pretty close to the gate to the Forest Level," Henry noted. "It's only about two or three hours away from here on foot – we'll be setting off as soon as everybody's ready. When we get there, we'll head for Sage's place. I think the plans right now are to rest there for a day or so – everybody's pretty exhausted at the moment."
"Sounds good," the newly-minted Tamer nodded, then frowned as a sudden thought struck her. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know what the date is, would you? I completely lost track of time back in…prison."
"That's understandable, considering that stupid realm doesn't even have a real day and night," Monodramon replied with a sympathetic grin.
"Uh, I think the D-Arcs have the date on here somewhere," Ryo said and grabbed his D-Arc, pressing a series of buttons before frowning in confusion. "Huh…apparently it's the 30th of February…1452"
"Well, mine says the 18th of November," Henry chuckled. "You might wanna get that thing looked at. If it's getting the date that badly wrong, who knows what else it'll do!"
"Yeah, you don't want it to misread a speed card as a Rock Armour card or something…" Terriermon giggled.
"Wait, did you say it's the 18th?" Rika asked.
"Oh, crap – it's Jeri's birthday tomorrow!" Ryo cursed. "Well, I guess we have a pretty good excuse for not buying her a present."
"I hope Sam is that understanding," the redhead muttered. "It's her birthday today."
"WOOHOO!" Terriermon cheered suddenly, nearly making his Tamer jump out of his skin. "Party at Sage's house!"
"You know, Rabbitmon, that's actually not a bad idea…"
The Tamers set off about half an hour later, after Steph had fully regained her strength and felt well enough to ride on Andromon's shoulder with Kazu. Ryo and Monodramon, meanwhile, were forced to ride Gaogamon with Cam, as the dragon had still not re-Digivolved to his Ultimate form. Henry's estimate was proven to be reasonably accurate – it took the children a little over three hours to hike over the mountains and reach the portal to the Forest Level, finding it lightly guarded despite its position overlooking the City of Gear. They would have been able to knock around an hour off of their travel time were it not for the fact that they had to take a rather circuitous route so as to avoid the squads of Guardromon and ForgeTankmon that were guarding the pass leading to the portal.
Sam, meanwhile, took the revelation that she was (in a sense) missing her birthday remarkably well – much better than her sister expected. On being told, she merely shrugged, smiled and said that being freed was the best birthday present she could have asked for.
Forest Level – 2:22p.m.
"This pwace is pwetty…" Suzie sighed as she gazed around at the beautiful, verdant landscape of the forest level. The Tamers had just emerged from the tunnels leading to the portal to the Hub, and were greeted with a view of enormous trees and blooming wildflowers.
"Sage's place is only a few miles from here – it shouldn't take long to get there if we all keep riding," Henry told his sister as she shifted restlessly on Growlmon's back.
"Can't I get off and wun awound and pway a bit? Pwease?" the little girl begged and turned on her best puppy-dog eyes. "I've been sitting up here for hours…"
"Not right now, Suzie. It's too dangerous."
"But Henwy…"
"He's right, Suzie," Lopmon said softly, shifting in the girl's vicelike grip so that she could look up at her face. "There could be nasty Digimon out in the forest – it's too dangerous for you to go off alone."
"But I'd have you with me, Wopmon…"
"Even so, it might be best to wait until we get to Sage's Valley."
"Yeah, that place is great!" Growlmon joined in enthusiastically. "The forest is totally safe, there's this huge waterfall – you can even go swimming in the lake!"
"And you'll get to do all that stuff even sooner if we keep moving now," Lopmon finished, noticing the dreamy glint in her Tamer's eye.
"Okay…" Suzie relented eventually.
Wow, who'd have thought Growlmon would be good with kids? Takato chuckled mentally as the group resumed their walking. Then again, he basically is a big kid himself, as Rika loves to point out…
Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign Level – 2:25p.m.
"My Lord Zhuqiaomon," Majiramon growled and attempted to bow, his serpentine body making the resulting act rather bizarre.
"This had better be good news, Majiramon," the enormous phoenix snarled as he looked down on the dragon, who lay prostrated on the shattered remains of the grovelling ring. The platform, along with a large part of the Sovereign's audience chamber, had been severely damaged after Zhuqiaomon had returned from his pursuit of the Tamers empty-handed and had decided to vent his frustration on the surrounding architecture. "I grow tired of the repeated failures of my so-called elites."
"I…regretfully inform you that the news I bring is quite definitely bad, oh holy one. My forces scoured the Hub for the Abominations, but we were unable to find them."
"Then keep searching!" Zhuqiaomon screeched, sending waves of fire crashing into the cracked walls of his chamber.
"That may be a pointless exercise, lord. We have discovered evidence that they may have left the Hub altogether. The gate leading to the Forest Level was-"
"You LET THEM ESCAPE? I specifically ordered that the portals leading from the Hub be heavily guarded!"
"It was guarded my lord, but they came in over the mountains and managed to avoid the bulk of the defences," Majiramon blurted desperately.
"So, you are guilty of incompetence rather than insubordination," the Sovereign sneered. "You will be punished for your stupidity. Guards!"
A quartet of ForgeTankmon trundled into the room and positioned themselves next to the door. A look of sheer terror crossed Majiramon's face as he looked from the newcomers and back to his master.
"Lord, I know I have failed you, but-"
"ENOUGH!" Zhuqiaomon interrupted. "If you cannot serve me competently as a commander, then I shall have to find another use for you. Take him to the laboratory, and prepare subjects one and two for siphoning."
This will be an interesting experiment, the deranged phoenix thought as Majiramon was practically dragged away by the ForgeTankmon. The developments provided by Antylamon have given me new insights into the bond between human and Abomination. It is…fortunate that Majiramon's incompetence has provided me with the perfect test subject.
Sage's Valley, Forest Level – 2:31p.m.
"Whoa…" Steph breathed as Andromon emerged from the tunnel and into the warm sunlight, the idyllic beauty of Sage's home greeting her eyes as soon as they had adjusted to the light.
"Yeah, that was pretty much everybody's reaction the first time," Kazu chuckled.
"It's so…pretty…" Sam whispered as a small smile crossed her sister's face.
"You can say that again."
Suzie, meanwhile, was completely dumbstruck by the sight of her surroundings. Unfortunately, her grip had unconsciously tightened around Lopmon, who she was still holding like a stuffed animal, causing the little brown rabbit to turn an odd shade of blue beneath her fur.
"Uh, Suzie? I think you're holding Lopmon a little too tightly…" Henry warned her.
"Sowwy," the girl mumbled absent-mindedly without loosening her grip.
"I think she's a little too distracted to listen to you right now," Sage chuckled in his baritone voice as he emerged from a small patch of trees just to the right of the group. "Welcome back to my humble abode. Should I assume that you were successful in your mission?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Cam grinned with a sly glance at Steph. "We ran into a couple of surprises along the way, too."
"Oh, really? You'll have to tell me about that…but first: let's eat!"
Sage's Tree – 3:52p.m.
"So, let me get this straight," Sage began with what may have been an incredulous expression, the shadows cast by his hood obscuring most of his face. "Not only did Hawkmon and Steph become partners, they also Digivolved to Mega level by merging into one being and proceeded to do enough damage to Zhuqiaomon to buy you time to escape."
"That's pretty much it, yeah," the blonde-haired girl mumbled around a mouthful of roast turkey. Sage had provided them with a massive victory feast and most of the children had been unable to finish half of what they were given. The feast had also been declared an impromptu birthday party for Sam, and she, Suzie and Steph were the only humans who had managed to reach a second helping, matching the Digimon mouthful-for-mouthful as they tore frenziedly into their meals.
"Fascinating…" the hooded Digimon whispered to himself. "I had never considered the possibility that humans and Digimon could…what did you call it? 'Bio-merge'?"
"I think that's what we shouted, yes," Hawkmon replied as he proceeded to tear into a cluster of roast potatoes like a starving 'mon.
"Incredible…"
"You think that's incredible, you should've seen 'em in action!" Kazu laughed. "I mean, Valdurmon took that blast from Zhuqs without even flinching! And don't even get me started on that 'Jouka no Hikari' attack."
"It really wasn't that great," Hawkmon muttered with what might have been a blush. "There's no way we could have kept fighting like that for more than a couple of minutes."
"Yes, the amount of energy required to maintain that shield must have been incredible – far beyond what would be sustainable," Andromon mused as he finally pushed his plate away.
"It was still pretty awesome, though," Ryo chuckled. "I mean, it's not every day that you're saved by an incarnation of a Norse god."
"Do you think that all of us will Bio-merge when we Digivolve to Mega?" Guilmon asked as he reached out and grabbed Andromon's abandoned plate, digging into the leftovers piled up on it.
"It is a distinct possibility," Sage nodded and gazed at the table thoughtfully. "If anything, it is more likely to happen to the rest of you than it was to Steph, as you all have stronger bonds with your partners due to the length of your partnerships, and have made use of your links in battle."
The conversation quickly turned towards topics that were less serious in nature as the Digimon finished eating one by one, Sage's limitless supplies of food ensuring that they only stopped eating when they were well and truly full. When Guilmon had finally polished off his fifth plate of assorted meats and vegetables, the children and Digimon began moving off sluggishly towards the lounge area. Rika and Renamon, however, lagged behind the others, waiting until they had all left and were out of hearing range before turning to Sage.
"Um, Sage? Can I ask you something?" the girl asked hesitantly.
"Would it happen to be about what happened when you rescued Hawkmon?" the hooded Digimon chuckled with a knowing grin.
"How did you…?" Rika began, frowning and rolling her eyes as an answer came to her. "Oh, right, let me guess. You were watching us again."
"Actually, my scrying capabilities within the Hub were disabled when the Sovereign's forces eliminated the rebels – they took out a relay station that was necessary to maintain the signal," he replied. "I only managed to figure it out because I know that Taomon would probably have been unable to fix the damage caused to Hawkmon even if you had both been at full strength, never mind after so much strenuous activity."
"So…what happened?" Renamon asked, a subconscious flick of her tail betraying her concern for her Tamer.
"I believe that the strength of your desire to help Hawkmon, combined with the stark contrast with the horrifying environment at the time, granted you the power to heal him."
"Wait a minute," the redhead said with a sceptical frown. "You're saying that we managed to save Hawkmon…just because I wanted to?"
"Basically, yes," Sage nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, especially when you add in the environmental factors and the emotions of the other living things nearby."
"How is that possible?" her partner asked.
"The Digital World is comprised primarily of data, and data can be manipulated by a strong enough will. The same thing happens when you use your link with Renamon – the strength of your bond gives her literal, physical strength," the dark-skinned Digimon explained with a toothy grin. "Simply put, emotion has power in the Digital World."
"All emotions? Even the bad ones?" Rika asked with a small frown.
"There are no bad emotions," Sage countered. "All emotions have the capacity to appear in ways that can be labelled both good and evil. Take happiness, for example. Normally that would be a 'good' emotion, but can it truly be considered good when it is derived from the suffering or deaths of innocents?"
"But what about anger, or hatred? Aren't they always bad?"
"No, but they are much harder emotions to control than most others. Anger can be a powerful motivational tool when directed against somebody who has wronged you or your friends. Hatred, when directed at a specific person, can drive you to accomplish feats you would never have thought possible – though, in the case of hatred, it is important to prevent your hate from spilling over into obsession. In the Digital World, the consequences of any emotion running out of control can be unimaginably severe, though in this case I doubt there was any danger to you or anyone else."
"I…think I get it," Rika nodded thoughtfully. "So it's nothing to worry about? I'm not about to burst into purple flames or anything?"
"Nothing to worry about," Sage confirmed. "Though it is rare for emotions to be strong enough to have such a drastic effect. You should be proud – not many people could have done what you did, even if you didn't really mean to do it."
"Uh, thanks…"
"Man, I still can't believe we did it," Kazu sighed and sat down on an Ikkakumon-fur rug placed in front of a roaring log fire. Monodramon and Guilmon were curled up close to the flickering flames, soft snores rumbling out from their slumbering forms. "We're so close to actually getting home again…"
"Yes, all we have to do is get through the Swamp, Jungle, Ocean and Desert Levels," Gaomon muttered sarcastically. "And that was so easy last time."
"You know what I mean!" the boy muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We're out of Zhuqs's home turf and moving into free territory. It can only get easier from here."
"He has a point," Kenta agreed. "The enemies in the Hub and Sovereign Levels were the strongest we went up against – the rest of it was mostly weak Champions and Rookies. The only real problem is gonna be getting across the Ocean."
"Yeah, I doubt our luck is good enough for us to run into Owlmon and his airship again," Cam chuckled. "We should ask Sage – he might be able to sort something out for us."
"Yeah, he probably knows somebody who could help us out," Kenta added.
"That I do," the hooded Digimon confirmed as he entered the room as behind Rika and Renamon. "There's a Whamon who owes me a favour. I'll have him meet you on the beach in the Jungle Level. If I remember correctly, there's another portal between the Ocean and Desert Levels not far from the Ocean-Jungle portal. It should bring you out about four hours away from the place where Ryo's group originally entered the Digital World."
"That's great, thanks," Ryo grinned. "That means it should only take us…hmmm…about four hours to get to the portal to the Swamp, then the rest of the day to get through there…"
"Yeah, it should be a lot easier without all those bugs chasing us," Jeri giggled.
"Call it another day to get through the Jungle, then just a few hours after that and we're home," Takato finished with an excited grin.
"We could be home by Sunday," Leomon nodded. "So much for needing to delay the Ark – we'll be there a day early!"
"That reminds me – I'd better contact Yamaki and sort out when he'll send the Ark," Ryo muttered and got to his feet, pulling a D-Comm out of his pocket and starting to type a quick message.
"Uh, where's Sam?" Rika asked suddenly, suppressing a spike of fear as she noticed that her sister was missing.
"Suzie decided she wanted to explore the valley a little," Takato chuckled from his seat on a massive leather sofa. "She ended up dragging Henry, Lopmon, Terriermon and Sam out with her."
"I should have guessed," the redhead muttered and rolled her eyes as she slumped down next to Takato, sinking into the sofa's soft embrace with a contented sigh. "So, only three days until we get home."
"I know," Cam grinned in reply. "It feels like it was so long ago that we first came here…but at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday."
"Speak for yourself," Steph giggled quietly. "I just feel like I've been stuck here forever. I can't wait to get home!"
"Ah, home," Kazu sighed. "I can't wait to be sleeping in a real bed again every night."
"Or actually eating breakfast every day," Kenta added.
"Being able to sleep without getting up to go on watch," Takato chuckled.
"Kicking Steph and Takato's arses on Armored Core," Cam laughed.
"Boys," Jeri muttered and rolled her eyes with a grin. "I miss my dad and little brother."
"I miss my mum and dad," Steph said softly. "They've got to be worried sick about me…"
"I'll make sure to tell them that you're okay," Ryo called as he typed away on the D-Comm.
"Thanks," the blonde-haired girl replied with a smile. "So, Rika, what do you miss most?"
"Hmmm…it's a tie between my mum and grandma and the famous Matsuki Bakery sausage rolls."
"Yeah, they really do taste awesome…" Cam sighed as his eyes took on a faraway look.
"What about you, Mr Perfect?" Rika asked after a few seconds of silence. "You're not getting out of saying anything. What do you miss?"
"Oh, I don't know," the boy shrugged absent-mindedly and continued typing away. "Nothing that isn't more than made up for by the pleasure of your company, Pumpkin."
"Thin ice, Akiyama," the redhead growled with a small blush as Jeri fought to contain her giggles. "I'll use that D-Comm to knock some sense into you if you're not careful."
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Gaomon quoted with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Argh, not Shakespeare!" Kazu groaned and mimed throwing up violently.
"Hey!" Steph snapped, a dangerous spark appearing in her eye. "Don't diss the Bard!"
"Uh, s-sorry?" the boy stammered.
"Well, so much for the old shy Steph," Leomon chuckled. "It looks like Bio-merging has done your confidence a world of good!"
"No, Shakespeare just happens to be her Berserk Button," Cam sighed. "She's the same way when she plays against me on video games."
"Or when she thinks you're keeping secrets," Takato added. "She nearly ripped my head off when she realized I blew her and Cam off to see Guilmon. 'Course, this was before she knew he existed…"
"I wasn't that bad…" the blonde-haired girl mumbled with a blush.
"Steph, if Guilmon hadn't distracted you, you'd probably have broken my neck!"
"What, and steal my fun?" Rika chuckled darkly. "She wouldn't dare after you went and told them I was a Tamer."
"Ouch…bad move, Takato…" Ryo winced and stood up as the D-Comm chimed. "I've got a reply from Yamaki. He says he'll be sending two Arks and he can have them ready to leave on Sunday, one heading for England and one heading for Japan. The England Ark will leave from the Desert Level where you guys landed, while the other one will leave where we landed."
"Great," Henry groaned as he limped in through the door, Sam and Steph chasing an exhausted Lopmon and Terriermon through the room seconds later with a chorus of laughter and excited screams. "What time do they arrive? And why can't we get them both from the same place?"
"He says it's something to do with the tunnels between worlds only connecting to one portal each – at least, I think that's what he meant. From what I understand, it's like the places where we all arrived in the Digital World each have a set of train tracks connecting them to one point on our world, which would be the portals we used to get here. We can only go to the places within about ten miles of where the train tracks connect up," the boy replied with his usual easy grin. "But yeah, the Ark to Japan arrives at one o'clock and the Ark to England arrives at five. By the way, Yamaki said that he's willing to use some of Hypnos's communications software to route some emails back to everybody's families, so if any of you guys want to send a message…"
As expected, most of the children leapt at the chance to have some contact with their respective families (with the exception of Cam and Ryo, who were decidedly indifferent about the whole affair). The three rescued girls were given the D-Comms first, Sam and Suzie dictating their messages to their respective older sibling before allowing them to type their own. Steph finished her email first and handed her D-Comm to Jeri before slumping down on the couch next to her partner.
"I wish I could see my dad's face when he reads that," the girl giggled lightly.
"Yeah, I can imagine he'll be a little surprised to learn about everything that's happened," Hawkmon chuckled, a flicker of worry crossing his features. "Um…how do you think your parents will…react to me?"
"I, uh…" Steph hesitated. "They'll definitely be surprised, but other than that…I don't know."
"I…I see," the bird mumbled, his face knitting into a mask of depression. "Maybe it would be better if I stayed in the Digital World then…"
"What?" his Tamer yelped in shock. "Why the hell would you think that?"
"Well, from what you've told me they probably won't approve of you being a Tamer, so they might try to stop us from seeing each other. And besides, I'll have nowhere to stay…"
"They won't overreact that badly," the blonde-haired girl reassured him. "Look, my dad will be pretty shocked and my mum will freak out a bit, but they'll calm down. Plus we have a spare room that never gets used that I'm sure they'll let you use."
"I…are you sure?" Hawkmon asked with a glimmer of hope.
"If they say no, we can always turn back into Valdurmon and make them agree," Steph giggled.
"True," her partner agreed with a smile that quickly transformed into a thoughtful frown. "Hmmm…come to think of it, do you actually have any idea how to Bio-merge to Valdurmon again?"
"I was just kidding about that part, you know…but no, I don't," the girl replied with a worried look. "I mean, last time it was like somebody else was controlling what I was doing, like I was just watching it on TV or something until we actually merged."
"Same here. Maybe we should try it again later, see if we can still do it."
"Good idea. We'd probably be better going outside, though – I don't think Valdurmon would fit in this room."
When everybody had finished sending their messages, they gathered outside along with their partners and Sage to watch Steph and Hawkmon's attempt to Bio-merge again – and were thus witness to its utter failure. The duo were completely unable to do anything more than embarrass themselves, shouting "Bio-merge activate!" so many times that they began to go hoarse. They eventually gave up at nightfall, trudging back towards Sage's treehouse with defeated expressions.
"Don't worry about it," the hooded Digimon reassured them. "It may be the case that you are only able to Bio-merge in a battle situation, or under extreme stress. I am sure that you will be able to do it again when it becomes necessary."
Beneath Zhuqiaomon's Palace, Sovereign Level – 5:23p.m.
Majiramon struggled in vain against his restraints, dozens of thick, leather straps binding his serpentine form to a massive metal table. A many-armed, spider-like machine was suspended from the ceiling just above his head, a series of pipes connecting it two ten metre wide, thirty metre high cylindrical glass tanks at the back of the room. A swirling black mist filled the tanks, obscuring the other contents of the glass tubes save for occasional glimpses of a blurred silhouette floating in each. At the far end of the room was a trapeze-shaped doorway, through which emerged the fiery form of Zhuqiaomon.
"My lord, I beg of you, please-"
"SILENCE!" the mighty phoenix roared, glaring venomously at his servant. "You know what this room is. You know the fate of those who enter it."
Majiramon cast a glance towards the massive tanks of black mist. "P-please, holy one, I know I have failed, b-but surely I can red-d-deem myself somehow? I beg of you, have mercy! Don't put me in a tank!"
"Oh, don't worry – your fate will be much worse than that," Zhuqiaomon promised and stared at the massive cylinders. "Tell me, pathetic worm, do you know what that black mist is?"
"N-no, lord."
"That mist is the concentrated physical and emotional anguish of the two beings that reside in the tanks," the Sovereign began with a maniacal glint in his eye. "Before today I merely kept it around as another way of torturing those who have displeased me, but recent events have shown me another way – shown me the light, as it were. It's ironic, really. The Tamers were the ones who unwittingly unlocked the doors to my ultimate goal. With this I shall be INVINCIBLE!"
"Lord, I d-don't understand…" the dragon stammered, shaking in terror as his master leaned down and looked him straight in the eye.
In that gaze, all he could see was madness.
"Emotion has power in the Digital World," Zhuqiaomon cackled and flipped a switch with a flick of his left wing.
The spider-like contraption above Majiramon's head let out a series of clicks and whirrs as a loud rattling emanated from the pipes joining it to the twin tanks. The many-armed device began descending slowly towards the Deva below it and spread its metal limbs wide, blades and syringes emerging from the tip of each one. As the hideous array of surgical implements moved inexorably towards his face, a black mist became clearly visible around each scalpel, saw and needle, causing Majiramon to redouble his desperate efforts to escape.
Soon the dragon's screams were mingling with Zhuqiaomon's laughter as they echoed through the halls of the Sovereign's massive palace.