Y/N: Chapter 37 already! Things are going to start getting crazy pretty soon—if you didn't already think they were. I hope you enjoy the chapter, I wrote everything except for Michael. Review if you get the chance, and happy reading!
U/N: So I wrote Michael here, and well, I enjoy writing Michael... I hope you like the chapter and review it :D
Title: Digimon Adventure 05
By: Yukira and Urazamay King
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters.
Part 2: Shaped By Sin
Chapter 37: Starting Again
Yoshie Izumi:
There were so many dishes. It appeared that Masami was fully capable of feeding himself, but he refused to clean up afterwards. There were growths on some of those dishes that I could have sworn were moving. But I powered through it after letting him have a piece of my mind. I wasn't angry about the dishes so much as the piles of bottles and cans that littered the entire apartment. Beer cans, endless bottles with different brands and labels, an entire case of sake. It was as if he bought out the entire stock of alcohol from our local store.
His excuse was that he thought I'd left him.
As heartbreaking as that thought might be, it was no excuse for destroying his liver! I'd spent years of my life married to this man. I loved him. If I ever was to leave him, I'd be sure to tell him why. But I wouldn't do that. Though he did always smell like alcohol now. No matter how many showers I sent him for, the smell still seeped out of his pores. I'd have to come up with a way to detoxify him before I decided to have too many guests over. I didn't want them to choke on the stench.
Digitamamon didn't like it as it was, and Kiyoko insisted on visiting with Tapirmon before I could figure out a way to get the scent out of the furniture. He assured me that he didn't mind the smell, but he had to. It was disgusting.
"What is the point?" Digitamamon was lamenting when Tapirmon suggested he come up with some new recipes to occupy his time. "I don't have a restaurant to serve them in."
"You will someday, and you'll need some fresh new ideas to go with the remodeling," Tapirmon insisted.
"Who said anything about remodeling?" Digitamamon wanted to know. "It was perfect as it was."
"It was nice," Kiyoko agreed. "But perhaps, if you build a more sound structure, it wouldn't be so susceptible to attack?"
"And how do you suggest I build this new, "more sound" building? I thought I did pretty good with the old one. I built it with my own two feet you know," Digitamamon snapped.
"You don't have to do it alone," I objected. "I'll help you."
"Do you have experience with construction?" Digitamamon asked.
"Well…no," I admitted.
"I'll help with the heavy lifting," Tapirmon said. I assumed he meant he'd help as Piedmon, because that little anteater digimon didn't look very strong as he floated on his cloud.
"And I'll design it," Kiyoko said softly, pulling out a large folder stuffed with papers. "I went through all of the things in my room yesterday, throwing away anything scary or evil, and I found some sketches that I drew ages ago. They were buildings. Kind of like blueprints. Sigma had me draw them of certain buildings for some reason. I think he might've been mulling over a break-and-enter plan and he needed escape routes. The point is, that I'm pretty good at drawing them. And I just started drawing without knowing what it was that I was doing. When I was done, I had a few different ideas for your restaurant, Digitamamon."
"Let me see them," Digitamamon demanded. I could tell he was trying to hide his excitement. I was touched that Kiyoko put so much energy into helping my partner. It was really sweet.
"There are different ones, and some of them aren't that great…" Kiyoko said, suddenly sounding self-conscious. I looked over the pages. There were four designs, each assigned a specific interior décor that matched the building itself. One was full of light colours, with white walls and tables, and bright yellows, greens and blues colouring the benches and the counter. There were big, wide windows covering the walls in the seating area, and it looked to be built of bricks that would be painted white as well. There was a gentle slope to the roof, and an awning over the door. It was simply labeled as 'Fun and Happy'. The next was sleeker, simply titled 'Modern'. A simple, black building, made of stone, with a flat roof that extended over the walls' edges, creating a thin strip of shade. The tables were white, with black seats, and a checkered tile floor. He scribbled in spots for abstract art, and elaborate decorations in the corners.
"I don't think either of these two really capture what I'm looking for," Digitamamon said.
"I didn't think so either," Kiyoko said softly.
"I like 'Elegant'," Tapirmon said, pulling the right papers out from under the first ones. It was filled with gorgeous, dark reds, with classy wallpaper, and a chandelier hung over the dining area. There was a fence surrounding the building made of wrought iron.
"It seems to fancy to me," I said. "He makes delicious but comforting food. It's a really pretty design though."
"I picked this one, myself," Kiyoko said, pulling a few papers labeled 'Rustic' to the top for us to see. "I added an outdoor seating area, so you can house more digimon, and I kept the wooden feel from the old restaurant throughout. The walls would be thicker, made with more than just wood, but it would look like a log cabin. The benches and tables and chairs would all be made of wood, and you could use tablecloths that looked sort of like the stereotypical picnic blankets. It's just a suggestion though…"
"I like this one," Digitamamon announced. "It's simpler. I don't want to intimidate my customers by making them think the restaurant is too good for them. I serve simple digimon. They want simple food in a simple place."
"That's what I thought," Kiyoko said with a small smile.
"Have you thought of going into architecture or interior design, Kiyoko? Something to do with buildings," I asked.
"No," he said quickly. "I don't think of the future. Ever. It's a rule."
"Your rule, or Sigma's rule?" I wanted to know.
"Sigma's," he admitted. "But I didn't even finish school. I got kicked out before I could. And it's too late to catch up. Even if I wanted to, I can't."
"It's never too late," I insisted. "I'll help you, if you want that. I don't want to pressure you. I just want you to succeed."
"No one's ever wanted that from me before," he said with a happy smile. "Not in a long time at least. Back before I was a disappointment to the family."
"You're not a disappointment to my family," I told him firmly. "You're an asset now."
"If you ever need help," Digitamamon offered. "Call on me and Yoshie. We'll help."
"Me too," Tapirmon added.
"Thanks," he said with a grin. "Wait until you see what I have planned for your kitchen…"
Yeah, I thought. He was going to be just fine. We all would.
Sora Takenouchi:
After a quick explanation of what Daisuke had reported seeing we were all standing in Taichi's apartment where he was waking Agumon from a nap as Yamato quickly explained to Gabumon that we needed their help to save Takeru.
"Hey!" Agumon shouted, karate chopping Taichi in the head as he woke him up, "Oh sorry, I didn't recognize you." Taichi groaned and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Come on Agumon," He said, "We're going to the Digital World." Agumon could clearly sense the seriousness in his voice and nodded quickly. Taichi pointed his digivice to the computer and opened the portal, and light poured through the room dragging us into the Digital World.
We landed in the forest near the Temple, where Taichi's computer always brought us on default, and without any instruction we were all walking. Agumon nervously glanced back to Neo from time to time as he walked side by side with me. Dracomon was walking next to Yamato who was in the lead, proud to be working with the good guys for once. Taichi was on his phone, texting someone, and Catherine was absentmindedly looking up to the stars.
Soon we were at the Temple where Taichi pulled on the heavy metal doors and opened them wide enough for us to enter. Catherine and Floramon gasped at the beautiful town that resided inside the Temple walls, and I could see the gears in their minds trying to stay focused on the task at hand.
"Where do we go from here?" Dracomon asked boldly. Taichi didn't answer, and instead just kept pushing forward. Neo pulled his scarf up, covering most of his face as he walked, embarrassed through the Temple. The digimon and other Temple residents glanced toward him in shock. They didn't forget what he'd done, and I couldn't blame them. But I'd forgiven him, so I linked arms with him to show him that he wasn't alone here.
Eventually Taichi was leading us up the stairs to the council building. Three years ago this building had just been one room, but ever since Taichi had took over the place was torn down and rebuilt into a much larger area—he had to take out a bait shop in the process to make room, but he'd hired someone to rebuild the shop elsewhere. Now the building was basically just one hallway with multiple doors that led to different rooms. Like the artificial meadow where the Knights trained, or the kitchen, or the door that led back to Earth, and staircase that I'd never been down—and of course, the council room.
That's where we were, standing by the bench I'd brought from home, by the council room door.
"Agumon," Taichi said, "Go get the others from the kitchen, tell them we're having a meeting." Agumon nodded and was off immediately, running to the council.
"I texted Koushiro, but he hasn't responded." Taichi said, "We're going to need someone to fill in for him." My face lit up but he didn't even look toward me, instead he pointed to Catherine. "You're smart right? You'll be Koushiro today."
As he finished saying that Agumon was coming out of the kitchen doorway followed by Leomon, Andromon, Tinkermon, Divermon, Babamon, and Metalifekuwagamon. A moment later Benjamin was behind them, and then Ogremon and D'arcmon joined them, closing the door behind them.
Each of them gave Taichi the same look which read clearly 'Another meeting? Really?' except for Tinkermon who actually kicked him in the side of the head.
"Notice anyone missing?" Taichi asked seriously. No one else knew the council well, so the question must have been directed at me. I closed my eyes and ran through them all and then froze.
"Marrow!" I gasped, "You don't think—?"
"That's exactly what I think." Taichi said flatly. "You heard Koushiro's mom's story about her time in the Digital World. Apparently Marrow showed up to destroy the building even after I told him not to like a hundred times—the person who took them looked like Gennai's people—Marrow has been trying to arrest Yamato religiously, and now he's not here."
"Will you need someone to fill in for him to?" Neo asked.
"Yeah, actually," Taichi nodded, "You're a psychopath too, you'll do great." I tried to glare at him, but he wasn't paying attention, "Yamato, you be Erif since he's not here either."
"You're kidding right?" I said flatly. "You have to be joking."
"I'm not," He said flatly, "You didn't notice? He's kind of Marrow's sidekick—why would he be here?" He clearly wasn't seeing the point. I'd been trying to get into a council meeting forever, and now I was the only one being left out. "Wait here with the digimon Sora, we'll be out in a few minutes."
Yamato shot me a thumbs up and followed Taichi into the meeting, followed by Agumon, Gabumon and Catherine. Neo at least gave me a sympathetic look before following. I sighed and slid down the wall, sitting on the bench.
I didn't even bring any knitting or anything—I was going to be so bored. I debated going into the kitchen and grabbing some tea or something, but I found myself watching Biyomon show off to Floramon and Dracomon who couldn't fly.
"Marrow is out!" Taichi declared from behind the closed doors. Everyone exploded with questions and accusations, and a full argument broke out, so I ignored it.
I leaned back and rested my head on the wall and closed my eyes, trying to relax.
"Sora," Biyomon said, breaking my relaxation almost instantly, "Can we go outside? I want to show them how high I can fly."
"Sure," I smiled at her. She beamed at me and started running out the door, followed by Floramon and Dracomon.
We had to save Takeru and Iori—and Miyako. Three of us were missing now—and we were all breaking up into teams to save them, which wasn't smart, but what choice did we have? We couldn't leave them—wherever they were...
Then I heard footsteps. They weren't Biyomon's. She was still outside with the others. Only those who were part of the Council had permission to enter this building unless permitted by someone who was on the Council. So who was wandering about where they didn't belong?
I slowly got to my feet and looked both ways down the hallway. The door to the meadow was closed, likely locked, and the door to outside was propped open—but whoever it was hadn't been out there, they couldn't have walked past me without me noticing.
The other direction, at the end of the hall was the door to Earth which was wide open in case of an emergency, but the door to the kitchen was open too... but hadn't D'arcmon closed it?
I walked as quietly as I could to the kitchen and peered inside, where one of the cupboards underneath the counter was propped open, completely empty. That's where the bowls were supposed to be kept—but they were all sitting in the sink, fully clean.
I was more than just a little bit suspicious, but I knew I shouldn't have continued without anyone to come with me in case something bad happened, but there was no one available.
I was back in the hallway and walking own toward the door to Earth. Had someone used it to go to Earth to do something? Marrow had clearly made use of it a couple times at least...
But then I heard something hit the ground and bounce, and I found myself turning to look down the stairs I'd never been allowed down.
I looked back to the Council door, and shook my head. There was no sense bothering someone about it, so I followed the sound as quietly as I could.
I was keeping my balance with the wall and walking with my toes on the edge of the stone steps until I reached the bottom and then I stopped. I was in a stone hallway lit with torches on the wall. I could faintly hear a sound coming from around the corner, so I followed it as carefully as I could.
Finally I spotted a door, and there was no denying that the sound was coming from within. I sidled along the wall until I was right next to the door.
I took a deep breath and slowly peered around the corner.
But there was nothing in the room, and the noise had suddenly stopped. I jerked my head back, suddenly a lot more scared. There was nothing to be afraid of. There was nothing in the room. I readied myself and then moved quickly, entering the room and moving to the back wall so nothing could be behind me.
I waited for a full minute, my heart pounding, until finally I sighed with relief and looked around. There was a multilayered podium at the other end of the room... each pillar of the podium was made of stone, and each one was empty.
I hurried toward them and looked them each over, before noticing the crest of purity on one of them...
This was the stands for the Digimentals! Someone had taken them!
"Heh heh!" I heard the familiar laugh of Erif before I turned to see him, his flaming red hair hanging in greasy tangles in front of his pale face. Over his shoulder was a mesh bag, likely filled with the digimentals.
"Erif," I said as bravely as I could. Erif was a fool, perhaps I could outsmart him... "Stop this..." He tilted his head in confusion, his face falling, "Marrow asked me to tell you that the plan has changed." I lied, "He wants you to keep them here until further notice."
For a moment it looked like he was going to do it, but then he just burst into a fit of laughter, "You think a stupid broad such as yourself can outsmart me that easily?" I froze. Since when could Erif form sensible sentences? "Shut up, and stay right here. We can't have you ruining the plan, now can we?"
I realized with a pang of fear that his hand was on the door, and I started running as quickly as I could, but he'd slammed the door sharply, and locked it from the outside.
"Erif!" I screamed, "Erif come back here!"
But I knew he wasn't coming back, he was getting away with the Digimentals.
Daisuke Motomiya:
I was babysitting.
It sounded horribly lame and insignificant when compared with Ken and Kurayami's quest to hunt down the abducted Miyako, or Sora's frantic search for Iori and Takeru—who'd been stolen under my very nose, and I could have saved if I'd been there even just a second sooner—but it was awesome. It was also something that I was terribly good at. But then again, I was good at everything. I was probably the single most talented member of the digidestined. Whoever chose who we'd be, totally got more than they thought they would when I was picked out of the crowd. I was fantastic at fighting; I had a heart of gold and a wit to die for. And if that wasn't enough, I was ridiculously easy on the eyes. I was really fun to be around, and the type of guy you missed when he left. Everyone wanted to be me, and only a select few got to hang around me. I had to be picky these days. I couldn't let just anyone get their hands on me. I was in pristine condition, I didn't want them rubbing off on me and taking away from my pure awesomeness. Granted, it was far more likely that I would rub off on them, making them just a little bit more amazing…but there was still that chance, no matter how small. Luckily, Norn happened to fall into the list of people that could be around me. It would be really hard to babysit her if she couldn't.
Sure, I would have liked to be off saving the day, but Norn needed me. Kurayami and Ken wouldn't have even made it to the Dark Ocean without me either. If I hadn't tackled Mr Higorashi, then they never would have made it through the gate. Yeah, Iori was really mad that I hadn't held him off long enough for him to get through, but that Gennai lookalike might've brought him to the Dark Ocean anyway, right? So it was a win-win situation. And Mr Higorashi couldn't even hate me either, because I was so awesome. The fact that he never acknowledged my existence was probably a factor in it too, but he only ignored me because he was so jealous of my fabulousness that he couldn't bear the sight of me, so I didn't mind too much at all. He didn't even yell at me for letting his daughter go into the Dark Ocean, even though he forbade her from ever entering there again—that was what made me absolutely sure he liked me.
And if I hadn't tackled him, Ken and Kurayami would never have got to Miyako, and then she would have died. Of course, since neither Ken nor Kurayami was nearly as great as I was, there was still a good chance that she would die, but I had every faith in those two to do their absolute best. And when—or if—they got her out of the Dark Ocean, it would've been all thanks to me! That's just how great I was.
I was letting Veemon cheer Patamon up in the kitchen by making ice cream sundaes. Patamon had been really put out by Sora when she didn't even wait for him before leaving. He wanted to go help Takeru too. But he didn't want to go on his own. He said something about learning the dangers of travelling alone the last time he tried, and decided he could do nothing more than wait. And boy was he impatient. He kept asking me if I had any updates. Did I look like I did? I would've told him if I learned anything. But Sora didn't seem to have any information worth sharing…or she didn't think she needed to share it. I was starting to think she forgot about poor Patamon. That was okay though, since Veemon suggested sundaes—I was going to, but he beat me to it—and Patamon's eyes lit up. He loved ice cream like no other. Well…any junk food really. We'd offered some to Norn, but she said no.
Seriously, the kid said no to ice cream.
She was a strange one. Instead of going for ice cream—every kid's favourite treat—she chose to sit on the couch, perched at the edge with her back ramrod straight and her feet perfectly aligned on the floor, staring at the blank television screen.
"Do you want me to turn it on?" I asked her.
"No," she said primly. "I've seen enough of the corrupt lives humans live, and wish to spare my eyes the sight of those horrible reality shows."
"Huh," I said. Like I said, she was a strange one. "What did your parents do to you kid?"
"Do?" she asked.
"You're so not like normal kids," I elaborated. "You're so serious all the time. Don't you ever want to just let loose and have a load of fun?"
"I'm meant to watch, not play," she insisted.
"You're parents didn't let you have fun?" I asked in horror. I was a way better parent then them, and I didn't even have kids.
"I do not have parents," she informed me, and then quickly turned her eyes back to the blank television screen.
"Why not?" I asked. I know that if someone else had asked, it would be rude, but I wasn't just anyone. I was awesome. And the way she said it…I didn't think her parents up and died on her. She didn't even know them. Besides, Kurayami could never get any information out of her. I wanted to prove once and for all that I was the best person in all of Japan. If I could get Norn to talk, it would be enough.
"I am now tired," she announced. "I wish to go to bed."
"What?" I asked confused and more than a little disappointed. "But it's so early…"
"I have learned that humans lie when they do not want to do something so as to not hurt the other person's feelings," she informed me before rushing up the stairs.
Great. I didn't have the proof that I needed to prove that I was the greatest person in Japan. I was still very near the top of the list, don't get me wrong, but it would have been nice to be at the very top of that list.
With nothing better to do, I went to check my e-mail. Maybe Sora had sent some news through there. If not, then I'm sure my many fans—I mean friends—had something they really wanted me to know.
There was only one new message in my inbox. I didn't sweat it though. They probably thought their news wasn't important enough for someone as awesome as me to bother with… The one email I did get, was from an unknown address. I shrugged and opened it. No one would send me a virus. There was only one line, barely a complete sentence:
Not much longer…
What was that about? This person really ought to have signed their name if they wanted me to get back to them. It was probably that person that wanted me to help them. They thought I forgot about them. I didn't. It just wasn't always at the forefront of my mind. Norn tended to draw my attention more easily, probably because Norn was a child that needed me to take care of her, and this other person was only potentially in trouble. I mean, it could be a trap. Some bad guy thought they could lure me in. They were wrong. I was far too smart to fall for their tricks.
With Norn upstairs 'taking a nap', and the digimon in the kitchen, I really had nothing to do. I know. It's hard to believe right? Someone as awesome as me, not having something to do? It was true though. So I decided two could play her little game and spread myself out on the couch for a nap of my own. I had barely closed my eyes before I was asleep.
I was immediately aware that I was now in a laboratory. I had to be asleep though, because I'd never once laid eyes on this place. There were long, metal tables everywhere, with beakers and Bunsen burners spread out on them and scientists observing the various reactions happening within the glass. People rushed from table to table, searching for information that the others might possess, every last one of them wearing long, white lab coats. At the far end of the room was a large computer attached to a contraption. Curious, I walked towards it, and was shocked to find that a beautiful woman was strapped onto it with thick leather straps on her ankles, wrists and waist. Her skin was a flushed pink, and her shoulder length, golden brown locks flowed around her head as she struggled to free herself. Her red and purple dress was long, and torn. The tiara on her head and the wings on her back are what gave her away as a fairy queen though. She wasn't the one I'd met though, the one that Iori saved.
She had to be the one sending me those frantic pleas for help. I was so proud of myself for figuring it out. Now, all I had to do was figure out just where this laboratory was…I could do that right? I was good at everything…
The feeling of being watched drew me out of the dream. My eyes snapped open only to find that Norn was standing with her face inches from my own.
"What's up?" I asked her. I was all nonchalant about it, she totally didn't scare me half to death or anything…
"The Master has made a decision," she informed me.
"Wait, what?" I asked confused. "What master? What decision?"
But she didn't answer me.
Koushiro Izumi:
I had been in the middle of searching through the information Mimi had provided me on the mysterious floppy disk when Taichi sent me an urgent text message demanding my presence in the council chamber. Mimi, of course, decided if it were so urgent, he wouldn't mind her tagging along. I informed her that she wouldn't be allowed to actually enter the chamber, but she assured me that sitting with Sora wouldn't be any trouble, since she didn't hate her anymore. She often found ways to remind me of that fact. I knew she felt terrible about it, but it wasn't really me that she needed to drill that into. I felt as though she was trying to prove to herself that she really was back to her previous self, and that she wasn't being 'crazy' anymore. She'd just tripped over a pair of Sora's boots that had been lying in the middle of the living room floor, and got angry about it, and then jumped to the conclusion that she was a horrible person for being angry at Sora, and that she was regressing into her Envy induced state.
"You'll stop me if I get too mean?" she asked as I led her through the busy Temple grounds. Palmon and Tentomon were enjoying the sights, and switched between running ahead, and falling behind as they found digimon or booths that caught their interest. I had Mimi's hand in my own, and she rested her free hand on my elbow.
"It's natural to get frustrated over quirks, Mimi," I informed her. "You're not regressing. If anything, you're too accommodating these days. It's normal to get angry sometimes. Anger and jealousy are not the same thing."
"I don't want her to hate me," she said.
"She doesn't," I told her, rolling my eyes at her unnecessary fear. "Sora forgave you before Leviamon was even defeated. She forgave you before I did. She doesn't hate you. I'm sure of it."
"Okay," she said with a smile. "I can't wait to tell her about my time travel adventures. Oh. What if she thinks I'm rubbing it in her face? She'll think I'm trying to make her jealous. Maybe I shouldn't tell her… But then she'll think I don't trust her, or like her enough. And I really want to tell someone. What should I do?"
"Tell her," I said with a shrug. "She had a key before you did, and hers is to Earth. It's vital really. She won't be jealous of your key, and she might even find the story of your trip with Hikari as fascinating as I did."
"Koushiro!" Tentomon called.
"Yes?" I asked him. He and Palmon had come running at us, looking excited and energized.
"Can we go play with Biyomon and the others?" Palmon asked, pointing to a small courtyard in the distance. Sure enough, Biyomon was flying as high as she could, laughing as Floramon and Dracomon cheered her on.
"Go ahead," I told them. "I'll be with the council, so just wait out here for me to finish."
I watched them go, before hurrying my pace to get to the council chamber. Mimi complained about the number of stairs, and I secretly agreed with her. I really ought to make the gate open up directly in the hallway, like Sora's door to Earth did. It would make it much easier. The hallway was strangely silent as we stepped towards the council doors. And Sora's bench was empty.
"Where is she?" Mimi asked.
"Maybe she went to the kitchen for snacks?" I suggested, though I doubted it. Sora had a bad habit of eavesdropping on every meeting. She placed her bench at just the right location that she could hear everything that went on behind the closed doors. I knew she wanted to be a part of the council, and I thought the idea had some merit. Marrow and Taichi however didn't seem inclined to agree with me. It was one of the very few things the two of them ever agreed upon. "Stay here, I'll see what's going on."
"Okay," she said, slumping onto the bench. She was already bored, but I couldn't exactly help that.
I pushed open the doors, and was met with an unusual sight. MetalifeKuwagamon and Tinkermon were stubbornly refusing whatever Taichi had declared, while Babamon looked very thoughtful. Andromon was silent—as usual—and Divermon was on his feet agreeing wholeheartedly. Ogremon and Leomon were glaring at each other for feeling the same way about the subject, despite being enemies. D'Arcmon was smiling proudly at Taichi for figuring something out, though what it was exactly, I didn't know. Benjamin was trying not to get hit by one of MetalifeKuwagamon's arms as he waved them about, and Agumon and Gabumon were on their feet at Taichi's side. None of these were the odd sight, however. They were fairly common occurrences. It was the fact that Centarumon's place at the end of the table was empty, and that Catherine was seated in my own. Yamato was next to Neo in Erif and Marrow's places as well.
"Care to explain?" I asked Taichi, raising one eyebrow.
"Marrow is freaking evil, and he stole Takeru and Iori," Yamato told me. "Taichi's trying to get them off the council."
"Is it really the time for this?" Neo wanted to know.
"How dare you bring that…that…monster to the council!" Tinkermon was yelling, pointing at Neo who looked very much like he'd rather be elsewhere.
"I'll bring whoever I want," Taichi told her. "And you can be damn sure I'm actually keeping the good of the Digital World in mind here. You want to keep Marrow, but he's taken two of the digidestined, and we need to know where they are. Marrow can't keep his place here. We can't let someone like him help shape the Digital World."
"And we can let the leader of the Alias III?" MetalifeKuwagamon questioned.
"He's not on the council," Taichi snapped. "He's being Marrow for the voting process. Speaking of which, Catherine is you Koushiro, so you'll be Centarumon. Get to your places; we've got a vote to do."
MetalifeKuwagamon and Tinkermon both seemed furious at Neo's presence, but they voted against Marrow anyway. It seemed they didn't like the idea of anyone that was evil having a place among us. Everyone else raised their hands when Taichi asked for the voting to begin, it was unanimous. Catherine looked rather confused and overwhelemed, and almost didn't vote, but remembered to do so near the end.
"Where's Sora?" I asked once the voting was completed. I was just standing next to the table, as Centarumon didn't have a chair to use. I felt kind of awkward, just standing there, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I did wonder though, where Centarumon actually was. He'd never missed a meeting before.
"Outside," Taichi said. "Like always."
"No," I said. "She's not…"
"What?" Neo asked panicked. I was really confused here. No one had bothered to inform me why it was imperative that we voted Marrow off the council, though I felt that it must've been really important.
"Damn it," Yamato muttered. "We shouldn't have left her alone."
"Do you think he got her?" Neo wanted to know.
"Who?" I demanded.
"Marrow," Neo snapped. "He's already got Takeru and Iori."
"She's probably just wandering around," Taichi said. "Don't panic yet."
"I'll look around," I told him.
"Go ahead," he said. "I need the rest of you to tell me anything you've noticed about Marrow. We need to find him immediately, and it's really important that you help out. I can't remember too much other than my blinding hatred at the moment."
I left Taichi to make a list of information that might be important, and rushed out of the room. Mimi looked up confused when I came running out, but I told her not to worry. I went to the kitchen first, finding a pile of bowls in the sink, but Sora wasn't there. I hadn't actually thought she'd be there, but I didn't know where to look next. She never wandered around here. She knew that she wasn't necessarily allowed to go into many of the rooms, since she didn't have the clearance.
"Koushiro?" Mimi asked when I came back empty handed. "Is this about Sora?"
"Yes," Neo said stepping out of the council chamber. "I'm not needed in there. I've never even seen the guy. Sora needs my help more than they do at the moment."
"She's in trouble?" Mimi gasped.
"Missing," Neo said, even though I was trying to signal him to shut up. He ignored me. He didn't know how freaked out about this Mimi was going to get. She was still desperately trying to make it up to Sora for her behaviour. I was right to be wary about sharing the information. Mimi jumped to her feet and let out a frantic squeal.
"We have to find her," she declared.
"I'm trying," I informed her, before stalking off down the hallway in the opposite direction, looking for any sign of her. There weren't very many rooms to search. There was a pretty good chance that she wasn't even in the Temple anymore…
"What was that?" Mimi asked, grabbing my arm, forcing me to stop moving. I hadn't even realized that she and Neo were following me. I should have. Neither of them knew anything about the Temple. They were bound to get lost if they wandered off.
"What was what?" I asked.
"Listen," she ordered. So I did. I heard a soft banging noise, the sound of a fist pounding against a wooden door, and muffled screaming.
"Sora," Neo announced. I nodded in agreement and led them toward the noise. We ended up at the staircase that led to the Digimentals Chamber. I had a really bad feeling about this. I ran down the stairs, the pounding and screaming getting louder with every step I took.
"Get me out of here!" Sora was yelling. "Taichi, Yamato! Neo! I'd even take Catherine!"
"Sora?" Mimi shouted back at her. "Are you in there?"
"Mimi?" Sora asked, no longer screaming. "Oh good. You're here. I won't even ask why. I need you to get me out of here."
"Let me," Neo offered, reaching up and unlatching the door. It was amazing just how a small piece of metal was able to hold Sora captive. Not in a good way, but amazing nonetheless.
"I've got to warn the council," she told us as soon as the door was opened. She ran up the stairs without so much as a "Thank you."
"How rude," Mimi commented, before we ran up the stairs after her. We got into the council just as Sora started talking.
"Taichi," she gasped, having spent most of her energy on trying to get someone's attention while she was trapped. "Erif has the Digimentals."
"That's not good," Mimi said shocked.
"No duh, Sherlock," Yamato told her.
"The Digimentals are the main source of balance for Earth and the Digital World," I reminded everyone. "Unless we were to lock the two worlds apart—"
"Which isn't going to happen until we have Takeru," Yamato interrupted.
"—then we'll need to recover them before the sun sets," I finished, sending a glare in Yamato's direction. "Marrow and Erif can't use them, or destroy them, or else the worlds will once again turn to chaos."
"Today is not our day," Taichi groaned. "The only plus side is that Yamato remembered something about Marrow that I didn't."
"Which is?" Sora prodded.
"That he always wore that stupid necklace," Taichi informed us. "The one with the tacky, blue orb."
"Orb?" Sora asked. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she reached the same conclusion as I did. "He's a Death Knight."
"Which is why I couldn't figure out where he came from, despite him bearing the same face as me," Benjamin concluded.
"Exactly," Yamato said. "And my mom happened to fight with a Death Knight or two in their main base of operations, if I'm remembering the story correctly. They've taken up residence in the giant hole in the ground that Fanglongmon used as his secret base last time around."
"What are we waiting here for, then?" Neo asked. "Let's get the digimon and get going!"
Michael Washington:
Jou wasn't saying anything, and I could tell it was because he simply didn't know what to say. I'd basically just told him that I was the worst person on the planet because I'd not noticed that my best friend had been replaced by an exact replica for three full years while he rotted in a prison cell.
He'd tried comforting me, but I brushed it off. I didn't want that. I just wanted Betamon.
Which was proving impossible since Fake-Betamon was leading me through the dark tunnels of the coliseum to something that simply had to be a trap.
"Why are we trusting him?" Gomamon asked quietly, voicing my exact thoughts as Monmon grumbled an agreement.
"I can hear you." Fake-Betamon groaned. "You're trusting me because I have no reason to not show you the way."
"Sure," Gomamon said sarcastically.
"No, wait," Jou said, waving Gomamon off, "What does that mean?"
"It means that my mission is failed." Fake-Betamon said, not looking back, "I was supposed to keep this idiot busy for as long as I could. I managed for three years, but he was suffocating me. It means that if they haven't succeeded yet, then they won't succeed."
"Succeed in what?" I asked sharply. "I thought you didn't know what they were doing!"
"I didn't say that!" Fake-Betamon retorted.
"Well what are they doing then?" Gomamon asked. "What do you know?"
"I know that they're trying to make him forget Michael." Fake-Betamon said. Simple words had never hurt so much. Why would they do that? What if they succeeded? What if my very best friend didn't remember me? Well... that was what I deserved wasn't it? I was the worst person alive. I couldn't believe I'd done that.
"Then move faster." Jou growled with such a force that Fake-Betamon actually listened. Jou turned to me and put one of his hands on my shoulder, using the other to support the unconscious Syakomon. "Don't worry," He said kindly, "We're going to find him, and he'll be fine."
"He isn't fine." I said quietly, but Jou didn't seem to hear me.
I'd always thought that there would be some connection between partners. We were so close... of course I did know something was off—but how was I to know what it was? No. No excuses. You should have known.
I found my hands balling up into fists again and I shook off the feeling.
Why would they want Betamon to forget me? So they would be one Digidestined down? Why didn't they just bring him to Earth and kill him. Be done with it? Or just keep him locked up forever? That would do the same thing. Something seemed very off—more off than it should have been... which was saying something.
"Are you ready?" Fake-Betamon asked. I didn't answer, but Jou nodded quickly.
"Just move along." Gomamon said sharply. Fake-Betamon scowled at Gomamon and then suddenly bolted straight into a wall, slamming into it, causing the ground beneath us to disappear entirely.
I wanted to scream, but I was too scared that whoever it was who was doing that to Betamon would hear me, and if they did there would be no way to save him because they'd overcome us easily. Apparently Monmo didn't have the same worries and instead began wailing loudly until with a hard smack we'd all landed roughly on stone floor.
I tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my head as I pulled myself to my feet quickly. Jou had landed on his side, trying to protect Syakomon and was checking his body for broken bones. "You okay Gomamon?" He asked. My eyes flicked to Gomamon who was laying underneath Monmon who was sighing with relief at his soft landing.
"Sure." Gomamon said sarcastically. Jou hurriedly pulled Monmon off of him and then we all turned to find Betamon but he was gone. "It was a trap!" Gomamon growled, "I knew it!"
"Wait—" I said suddenly. I'd heard something... I turned slowly toward the sound, my eyes closed. It was sobbing. Someone down the tunnel was crying, and there was only one digimon that it could have been.
Before I knew what was happening I was running at top speeds through the tunnel, ignoring Jou calling my name, my feet splashing in the puddles accumulating on the floor from the dripping walls and ceiling. There was only one dim light every so often down the hallway, so it was hard to see where I was going exactly but I didn't slow down until I could see bars of a cage illuminated in the darkness by a torch on the wall.
I stopped suddenly.
This was it. If that was Betamon I'd find out just now if he remembered me or not... If he didn't... would I be able to take it? If he did... what would I say...? I didn't know what to do. I stood in silence with only the sounds of sobbing to listen to.
"Betamon?" I said quietly, choosing to get it over with before Jou and the others caught up.
The sobbing stopped abruptly.
"W-who are you?" Betamon stuttered weakly, and I had to look away. He'd forgotten me. I felt my hands start to shake. What could I do? Introduce myself? What if he'd been brainwashed into thinking that I was the enemy? What if Gomamon had to kill him? Last time my partner-that-wasn't-my-partner had died I'd thought that my life was ending... Could I do it again? Then, I could see him, and my heart skipped a beat. There, scared and wet, standing in the cage, illuminated by the lights was my partner, squinting his eyes into the darkness. "Michael?"
Suddenly my heart was pounding, and I couldn't stop myself from running toward the bars of the cage.
"Betamon!" I gasped, falling to my knees in front of the cage, throwing my arms through the gaps and hugging him.
"I-is this real?" Betamon asked, breathing heavily, crying again. "Are you real? Is this... real?"
I nodded, and started crying with him, "Yeah." I confirmed, "It's real."
"I knew it..." He whispered, "I knew you'd come for me."
"I'm so sorry for..." I was choking on my own words, my heart wanted to stop, I was so ashamed, so embarrassed, so guilty... "I'm so sorry for taking so long..." I managed to say through my tears.
"It doesn't matter." Betamon shook his head, "All that matters is that you came in the end."
"No." I said flatly, with as much force as I could, "I should have come sooner—I should have... It's my fault. I will never forgive myself."
"Michael...?" I turned around quickly to see Jou.
"Who is that?" Betamon asked, suddenly scared.
"It's just Jou!" I said quickly, "its okay. He's helping us." But Betamon shook his head, so I spun around quickly. Jou was standing with Syakomon still, Gomamon and Monmon were on either side of him. None of them would hurt him—why was he so scared.
And then I saw the set of eyes lingering behind Jou.
"Jou!" I yelled, "Look out!"
"River of Power!"
It was too late to warn him, and with a flash of light and an ear shattering boom the wall had been smashed, crumbling, the air was suddenly filled with large clouds of smoke. I couldn't move an inch. Jou could be dead, and if he was, then it was my fault. It was my fault because he was only here because I asked him to come... he couldn't be dead.
"Jou!" I gasped, turning to the figure emerging from the dust, but it wasn't Jou. It was MetalSeadramon. The evolved form of the monster who had tricked me for so long, so that others—whoever they may have been—could torture my true partner. The digimon who had just hurt Jou, and Gomamon and even that annoying monkey digimon. Suddenly my digivice as in my hand and I was gripping it firmly. "That's it." I said with a growl. "You're going down."
My digivice heated up quickly, shining brightly, something it hadn't done in a long time. "Betamon digivolve to... Seadramon!"
I didn't even need to look back because I knew due to the sound that he'd broken free of his cage. "I've got this!" He said, lunging forward and tackling MetalSeadramon to the ground, biting him around the neck. Seadramon looked like he usually did; a simple green snake with a golden head; but with added scars running along his back, and his skin was shallow and faded.
He'd been tortured, and starved. He couldn't win like that. He was a wounded champion against a well rehearsed mega. I'd need help.
No.
No more letting everyone else fight the battles for me. I was going to win to win this. For me. For Jou. For Betamon.
My digivice was glowing again, and before I'd even taken note of it Seadramon was glowing again. I was sure he'd be transforming into MegaSeadramon, but he didn't. Instead he turned into a red snake with a black helmet and a lightning bold shaped horn out of his head. Similar to MegaSeadramon, but darker. "Seadramon digivolve to... WaruSeadramon!"
He looked stronger now, still weaker than he should have been—I could tell without even knowing what his true form should have looked like. WaruSeadramon moved swiftly and wrapped himself around MetalSeadramon and squeezed tightly, as he used his sharp teeth and dug them deep into MetalSeadramon's head.
I couldn't help but feel satisfied that he was causing him pain. He deserved it. So did I. I wasn't denying that. But he most certainly did as well.
MetalSeadramon only put up with it for so long though, deciding upon slamming himself into the wall, smashing WaruSeadramon's head against it in the process. He lost his grip and fell loose enough for MetalSeadramon to slip free of his grasp and using the metal horn on his head to cut at my partner. I winced the moment he cut his flesh—the scream Waruseadramon let out made it apparent that he was all too used to making that sound.
I couldn't help but feel defenceless then. I couldn't help but want to curl up and cry for what I'd done.
But I couldn't do that. I needed to win this first. Then I could take whatever punishment karma wanted to bring to me.
The two serpents were dancing around each other, seemingly equally matched overall. MetalSeadramon was evidentially stronger than WaruSeadramon, but much slower, so the two of them were unable to take a lead, both of them cutting at the other occasionally with their horns.
Finally though, MetalSeadramon used his tail and smashed WaruSeadramon in the side of the head, causing him to fall crashing to the ground.
MetalSeadramon looked to me and grinned, "I'm just doing my job." He said wickedly, "We need your body. We can't let you die—but in all actuality, there was no rule saying that we needed your partner."
He turned his head toward the fallen serpent and shot a beam straight from the canon he had on his nose.
I found myself screaming as I was running toward the blast, sliding across the stone until I was between the two of them. I couldn't let them take him. If they didn't need him—fine. I did though. And they needed me—it only made sense that I should die in his place. It was fair. And besides, it foiled their plans.
Before the blast had hit though, my digivice was glowing once more, pure white this time.
"WaruSeadramon digivolve to... GigaSeadramon!" With a quick sweeping motion my partner was surrounding me. I took my first look at him and I thought he was MetalSeadramon—but he wasn't. He was a tricked out epic version of him. He looked much more futuristic and aerodynamic. And finally there were no scars on him.
The blast MetalSeadramon had shot slid right off of his armour and then the two of them stared at each other for a moment, until, at the same time they shouted their attacks.
"Giga Sea Destroyer!"
"River of Power!"
I watched in awe as the two blasts collided head on. I thought they'd explode on impact and was ready to take cover, but they connected. MetalSeadramon's blast was blue, while GigaSeadramon's was pure white. I watched as the blue slowly overtook the white.
We were losing.
It was because of me.
He wasn't strong enough... he'd have been strong enough if he hadn't been here so long... I needed to help him.
I needed to find strength.
I closed my eyes and remembered the day I met Betamon, and how I'd been too scared of him. Then the day I'd finally accepted him—that was the best day of my life. The day I met Mimi—they day I got two best friends when I'd had none to begin with. The day I'd had to say goodbye to him... and the day I thought we'd been back together—but it was the fake Betamon. The one we were fighting. The one who caused all this mess. I opened my eyes and saw Gomamon waking Jou up... but he wasn't moving.
Maybe he was dead.
I turned to MetalSeadramon who needed to pay, and with sudden force GigaSeadramon's blast overpowered MetalSeadramon's, and with a final wail, a heartbreaking scream, the Fake-Betamon was no more.
I fell to my knees as GigaSeadramon quickly reverted to Betamon. The weak, scared shell of Betamon.
I moved forward quickly and hugged him. "I'm so sorry..." I said again.
"Michael..." Betamon said, shaking his head slowly. "I forgive you." He had to be lying. There was no way he'd forgive me this fast. Especially not before he ate. He'd probably want food so bad. It was a good thing we were with Jou though—he'd be able to heal him. A digital doctor as a friend would always be good.
Jou!
I turned quickly toward him and sighed with relief. He was rubbing his head, and opening his eyes.
"Oh thank God!" Gomamon gasped, "I thought I'd have to deliver the bad news to your daughter!"
Jou tried to smile comfortingly at us all, but his head was clearly in a lot of pain.
I turned back to Betamon to respond.
"I already told you..." I whispered, "I will never forgive myself."
Natsuni Ando:
Owryumon—Centarumon informed us of his name—didn't waste any time. He reared his head back and shouted "Eiseiryuoujin!" before flapping first his left wing, and then his right. Two long slashes of wind were flying straight at us. Couldn't he give us a second to think up a strategy?
"Goburi Bomb!" Goblimon shouted, creating a ball of fire in both hands that he then threw at each of the wind blades. They exploded upon contact, thankfully dissipating the attack.
"Thank god," I gasped. Okay. I needed to think. He was an armored dragon. A mega no doubt. We had a rookie, a champion and an ultimate. That didn't sound like enough. We were so going to die.
No.
Movies always had odds like this. I just needed to think up a ridiculously easy plan that can be executed without any trouble whatsoever and we'd make it out of this fight as heroes. That's what most action movies taught me anyway. The simplest strategy was often the best because it wasn't expected. The bad guys always thought the hero would come up with something seriously elaborate and then were caught off guard when they didn't think to put up a safe guard against the simplest things.
It was easy to think about this, but would I be able to put it into practice? That was the question. Being stared down by a giant thunder dragon was not helping me keep my train of thought on track.
"Trying to implement a strategy is useless," Owryumon said. "You'll be dead before you can think of one."
"You talk the talk," Mr Ishida commented. "But can you walk the walk?"
"He'd need legs to do that," Mrs Hida said with a smirk. She'd made a joke. A legitimate one. It was getting easier to like her. And there were always jokes in movie fights too. The movie was playing out in my mind. But it was still too hard to picture a victory.
"Solar Ray!" Centarumon shouted, holding up his mechanical hand and firing a yellow laser beam from it. The beam flew towards Owryumon with plenty of time for him to dodge. Instead of doing that, though, he let the laser hit him head on, laughing as it did so.
"Nothing gets through my armour," he informed us with a loud laugh.
"We'll see about that," Wizardmon challenged. Goblimon nodded and the two of them rushed the enemy. "Electro Squall!"
"Goblin Strike!" Goblimon called.
Goblimon threw fire at Owryumon, but it was brushed off without a second thought. He didn't even complain about his armour heating up. Wizardmon summoned a thunder cloud which let loose an intense lighting strike. But that only made Owryumon laugh harder.
"You think you can use lighting to defeat me? I'm the Death Knight of Thunder!"
"What do we do now?" I asked hesitantly.
"We'll think of something," Mr Ishida assured me.
"Even armour has a weak spot," Mrs Hida said, though she didn't sound too sure of herself.
"But where is it?" Mr Ishida wondered.
"His neck!" I realized. His armour flared out where his head connected with his body. It was as if he was wearing a helmet over top of the armour. The flaring allowed him to swivel his head back and forth. "If we could just get an attack underneath the opening under the helmet, we'd get a direct hit."
"They'll have to be sneaky," Mrs Hida commented.
"Or we could use a distraction," Mr Ishida decided. "Wizardmon, give him a real magic show!" Wizardmon looked confused, but nodded anyway.
"Eiseiryuoujin!" Owryumon shouted. Wizardmon took that as inspiration, and called out "Magical Game!" He used his magical abilities to turn the wind blades into rubber chickens, and then threw a handkerchief over top of them, wiggling his fingers above them. He removed the handkerchief to reveal two perfectly formed bombs that he then threw in Owryumon's face.
"You're magic amuses me," Owryumon said. He was thoroughly distracted.
"Goblimon, come here," I hissed. I was loud enough for my voice to carry to Goblimon, but not for Owryumon to hear me. Thankfully.
"Yes?" he asked, after walking slowly—and quietly—so as to not gain the dragon's attention. I whispered the plan into his ear, and he nodded with a slow smile. He went to collect Centarumon.
"Ready for act two?" Wizardmon asked. He didn't wait for an answer. "Vision of Terror!"
I didn't need much of an explanation for that attack. Almost instantly Owryumon was screaming in horror. It had to be a nightmare type of attack. Wizarmon was exploiting Owryumon's worst fears with an illusion trick. I didn't want to know what could be so horrifying to a dragon of Owryumon's size and power.
"Now!" I shouted while he was distracted. Goblimon launched another Goburi Bomb attack and Centarumon threw in another Solar Ray.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the three attacks—two Goburi Bombs and the one yellow laser—made their way to the small gap in Owryumon's armour and sunk into his skin. Wizardmon released him from his nightmare just after they hit. Owryumon froze, his eyes widening underneath the helmet.
"It's not possible," he gasped just before dispersing into data.
"Yes!" Mr Ishida called victoriously. Mrs Hida jumped into his arms. Wizardmon and Centarumon complimented each other on their attacks. And I was busy throwing myself at my partner, praising Goblimon for his victory. I let Wizardmon and Centarumon pick up the yellow orb Owryumon left behind. They shattered it and it let out a brilliant lightshow, though I didn't see any changes. Centarumon assured me though, that it had restored the element of thunder to the Digital World, and I had to admit I was proud to have been a part of the group that did it. It was way better than any action movie I'd seen.
Next on Digimon Adventure 05:
There's a lot of action heading your way, with Hikari, Ken and Taichi taking the lead, with a little Yuuko on the side.