I had to do a fair amount of research before I could really get down to writing this chapter. Bangkok really is a rather lovely city as I discovered, and destroying it in this story actually makes me feel a little sad about having most of it reduced to waste. Little heads up before we go forward, yes I've been building up to a lot of action with the recent chapters, but I also want to take the time to stress what the characters are thinking. With that in mind this chapter's not going to be all about cities getting blown up, people reacting to that will be. Now with nothing else left to say onto the story!
I own nothing except the OCs.
Chapter Thirty-Eight- The Last Time You Smile
Since the time they met Willis always had a feeling he and Davis were going to have something of an odd friendship. Time showed his instincts to be right as the two kept in touch with each other, a more solid friendship forming. He gave him some flank over stealing a kiss from Kari and Yolei, but that had been a minor speed bump and running joke between them. Davis was perhaps the first person he'd truly opened up to since he accidently created a pair of Digimon that nearly destroyed the world. Now, as he looked down at his unconscious form Willis felt fate had been preparing him for the time he would have to be the strong one for Davis's sake. This situation had done its job in knocking them all out of their natural habits. As Willis had seen many of them had been forced to take up roles they didn't usually play; Davis lying in a hospital bed was more than a glaring example of how drastic a change this had been. This change was as unwelcome as it was harsh.
"You always joked about how being a DigiDestined wasn't easy Davis, believe me man, now I know what you mean." Willis started lacing his hands together. His palms were impossibly sweaty and clammy, but that was to be expected given in less than twenty minutes he was being deployed to the frontlines. "Remember when we went over to Michael's house to watch movies? War movies, I don't think any of us can look at them the same way now." There was a hollow laugh at the end of the statement, one that was darker than Willis intended it to be. "It's scary as hell, I can tell you that much. Heh, you can guess I'm not really high on the chain of command, I'm part of the grunt forces. Not glamorous, hah, nothing about this has been glamorous Davis. As we speak there's an operation to take back Bangkok going on; it's called Operation Bang Break. Yeah, I know, whoever thought of that one shouldn't be in charge of naming." A shaky hand ran over the teenager's sandy blonde hair. Over the past few weeks doing so had become something of a nervous habit as Terriermon and Lopmon had pointed out. He had quite a lot to be nervous about. "Knowing you I'm sure you'd like to be part of the action, I heard things have already gotten pretty heated even though the battle just started thirty minutes ago. Since I'm going to be shipping out in just a few minutes…heh, you can guess I'm pretty terrified. I won't sugar coat it, I'm scared shitless Davis."
Right then Willis fully expected Davis to snap up and give him a rousing speech about courage in the face of fear. Something along the lines of them having a job to do and people to protect, that would have been inspiring and welcomed. Sadly no such words came from the teenager lost in a medicine-induced coma. Lying in his hospital bed Davis looked rather unsettlingly like a mummy. Only one of his eyes was visible, and it was sealed shut while the other was buried beneath a layer of bandages that ran over his head keeping his hair suppressed. Davis's entire left foot had to be propped up due to the multiple number of fractures he had when they wheeled him in. Beneath his teal-colored hospital gown almost his entire body had been wrapped in bandages and casts meant to heal his broken and fractured ribs and bones. Even if Davis regained consciousness he wasn't going to be moving around anytime soon. Speaking of consciousness Davis had been drifting in and out of that, according to some of the doctors it was going to be at least two weeks or so before he was able to walk the streets with no issue, and that's not counting the likely permanent eye damage some believed he was going to have to work through. To be fair Veemon wasn't much better, like many other Digimon such as Agumon he wasn't going to be seeing any action for a while until his data stabilized.
"I know this isn't the thing you want to hear but…it's probably a good thing you're sitting this one out. It's not because I don't think you'd be useful, I'm sure you'd be out there on the frontlines spearheading every fight. But what's happening now…" A lump began to form within Willis's throat and he couldn't force it down. His own fear began to run rampant through his body causing it to shake and tremble. "I had a great uncle who served in World War II, you had family that was living in some of the areas that were bombed, he t-told me…heroes have no place in a war. Davis, I know you can be a lot of things, but to me…you're a hero." Firmly clapping his hands together he stopped the shaking. While his courage still served him he faced towards his comatose friend with a determined frown. "You've always been there for other people Davis, rather they say it or not they're grateful for it like I am. So this time, let us do the heavy-lifting, I don't know if we can do it with your kind of flare, but we'll give it a shot." He finished with a smile and gentle shake of Davis's hand. "If I survive I'll be back to tell you all about it."
With his hands on his knees the American teenager pushed himself out of the arm chair. His leisure time was at an end. In some ways he envied Davis who got to continue to sleep comfortable in a nice hospital bed. Some would argue if that was even a blessing compared to the current situation. A handful of visitors had noted the young DD leader had been tossing and turning from time to time in his sleep leading them to believe not even the realm of dreams were untouched by the mayhem unfolding in the real world. If not for the medicine and painkillers Willis honestly doubted Davis would have been able to sleep.
Pausing one last time he looked back on his sleeping friend. There was a very real chance this was going to be the last time he saw Davis alive; he hoped it wouldn't be. If it were he gave his close friend a single smile before softly shutting the door as not to disturb his sleep.
As Matt had learned in history and geology there was a point when the Earth wasn't a beautiful blue planet. At one point it was a red and black marble that burned with a fire comparable only to hell itself. Some people even believed this ancient landscape was where the concept for "hell" originated from. How they came to that conclusion Matt had no idea as no living creature could have suffered the toxic atmosphere and volcanic wasteland that was ancient Earth. Only paintings and digital-created images could give man an idea of what the planet they lived on looked like when it was first formed. Barbamon had done something better, he had recreated that diabolic landscape in the span of five days. In five days he had turned Bangkok into a gigantic inferno that seemed to have been torn straight from the Abrahamic depictions of Hell. Now Matt and two hundred other kids were flying into that place backed by the force of the strongest military power in the Digital World.
Around him countless voices commented on the hellish they were seeing via the windows of the futuristic aircraft. Matt just hadn't found the heart to look out the windows until the voices were too loud and frantic to ignore. With a grimace he turned his head to grab a peek at the battlefield.
What did the job first? The DigiPort, the gigantic earthquakes, or sudden volcanic eruptions form out of nowhere? Scientist were more than likely going to be spending decades trying to figure out how one of the most well-known cities on Earth became a volcanic wasteland overrun by digital monsters and lunatics. If the apocalypse took place in an urban environment Bangkok as he was seeing it was what it would look like. First off the entire city had been elevated thirty-feet higher than it originally had been created staggering cliff sides that dropped lava off into a positively polluted and destroyed bay. According to the analysis performed the volcanic bedrock was so tough no amount of flooding would be enough to drown the city meaning Dagomon had no way of counterattacking Barbamon's stronghold. Any moisture that came close to the red-hot cliffs was evaporated into steam, hell, below the cliffs entire fields of cooled magma stretched out making seem like the land itself was attempting to cross the great sea. All this completely eliminated the idea of a naval operation, and it had permanently destroyed the once bustling city's coastline.
Speaking of water the Chao Phraya River that once ran through the city had been completely and utterly blocked off. Actually that wasn't right, Matt realized as they flew over the remains of the river, it was no longer there period. Apparently one of Barbamon's first acts upon conquering the city had been making sure there wasn't a drop of water that could be used by Dagomon to manipulate. The Wat Arun had been transformed into a smoky black mountain that exhaled smoke nonstop smothering anything that attempted to trend across the wastes. For all intents and purposes the Chao Phraya River now stopped at Uthai Thani.
"You think after we beat Barbamon it'll be possibly to get her river flowing again?" One of boys next to Matt asked.
"If we're able to do that the river's going to be the least of our problems." He answered back as his face was illuminated by another flashing explosion. There was no way to cross the hellish landscape on foot, just touching the ground was libel to roast a person's foot then the rest of their body. That was the state of the entire district of Ratchada. "I can't believe once I actually thought about taking a vacation here."
"Get in line pal," Another DigiDestined across from him said. "The best vacation we can ask for when all this is over is somewhere far from water or volcanoes. Better buckle up, we're about to hit some turbulence."
True to her word multiple shockwaves slammed into the aircraft causing the entire thing to violently shake. Around him various humans and Digimon grasped onto whoever or whatever they could to remain steady. Outside the constant booms of explosions blasted through the metal walls, just the fact they could hear them was a testament to how fierce the fighting was.
Placing a hand on Gabumon's shoulder Matt whispered, "You ever think we'd be in a situation like this? We've seen enough war movies to know how these sorts of things usually end."
"As dramatic as that would be I highly doubt this carrier's going to be blasted out of the hair." The fur-covered Digimon replied placing one of his own hands over Matt's. "The Metal Empire is known for its cutting-edge technology, their military craft for their durability."
"I'll take your word on that one pal." The rocker playfully chuckled.
For the most part Gabumon believed what he was saying. Having been an envoy to the Metal Empire multiple times he at least knew their aircraft took quite a bit of damage before they could be taken down. The problem was flying through a warzone tended to fill up that bit rather fast. Given they were facing the forces of Barbamon, the greatest tactician of the Seven Deadly Demons. Gabumon knew when the mission briefings happened no one sugar-coated anything, this was going to be a grueling battle from start to finish.
Thanks to the new change in scenery the air had become positively toxic, borderline deadly in some areas of the city. With so many volcanoes, supernatural volcanoes mind you, blowing smoke into the air very few living creatures could stand the high concentration of ash and CO2 for longer than eight minutes. That was partially why the Metal Empire had been elected to be the spearhead of the operation, their Chrome Digizoid bodies and cybernetic systems were all they needed to guard against a landscape deadly to any biological creature. Gas masks had been handed out to every human partaking in operation, the only danger was if any of them lost those masks. Gabumon would have been in danger too if he weren't capable of Digivolving into his Mega form, as the cybernetic wolf MetalGarurumon he had nothing to fear from the toxic ashes, only the demonic monsters patrolling the target sight.
This situation was beyond bad, it was outright nightmarish in Gabumon's opinion. Once the call was given he and Matt were going to be in for one of the fiercest fights of their lives. Looking around him he saw various humans and Digimon around them were having similar thoughts as he was. "Which one of us is it going to be? In order to make it to Sight-G we're going to have to march through a field of fire and monsters, not all of us are going to make it through that." It was scary but that the reality of the situation. "Even if we do make it there all we can is hope Barbamon too occupied to trigger a shockwave that incinerates all of us."
"We're coming up upon Sight-G, I repeat we are coming up on Sight-G! All units prepare to drop, I repeat all combat units prepare to drop! T-minus two minutes!"
To hammer the point home the explosions grew louder and fiercer. Many of the occupants shut their eyes with looks of solemn resolve while others muttered quiet prayers to whatever deities they believed in. Matt for his part was torn about how to proceed. Lately prayer had been seeming less and less appealing to him. He did want to see his loved ones again so he figured why not. Sharing a glance with Gabumon he found there was some ease in his bodies.
"I guess this is the make it or break it, eh old friend?" The rocker casually mused as the alarms started blaring.
"Been there and survived it Matt." Gabumon smiled back, he was happy his partner returned the smile. "Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Gold light consumed Gabumon just as it did the other Digimon in the dropship's underbelly. Voices and shapes changed amidst the countless spheres of light. For Matt his attention remained on his partner who went from a fur-covered horned mammal that came up to his waist to a large armored cyborg wolf carrying enough weaponry to level a military base. Behind him the voices announced themselves to the burning world just as the walls pulled away giving them a view of the battlefield.
"DEPLOY! DEPLOY NOW!"
Jumping on top of his partner Matt dropped his gas-mask over his face, and then like so many others he let his digital partner carry him into open air.
Matt couldn't say the feeling of the hot, dry air bombarding him was something he'd ever be able to forget. Even with all the body armor he'd been equipped with the sheer heat of the surroundings hit him full force. It felt like he'd been just thrown headfirst into an oven, and he knew it was only going to get worse from there.
"MATT, WHATEVER HAPPENS DON'T LET GO!" MetalGarurumon screamed over the chaos of combat.
Matt was actually flabbergasted his partner would even ask that question. "WHY THE HELL WOULD I DO THAT! IT'S NOT LIKE THE GROUND IS LOOKING APPEALING!"
Those DeviKnightmon that weren't engaged in aerial battle with the strike force were blasting at everything that moved while standing their ground against waves of attackers. Scores of black and red armored knights stood watch around the two-hundred foot obelisk. The flaming aura of the Control Spire sharply resonated with the glowing markings of the DeviKnightmon, boosting their power to levels that allowed them to take down even Megas who joined the assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM!
Barbamon had been insightful when he equipped these DeviKnightmon with the Digital World's equivalent of a bazooka and rocket launchers. Every fireball, every energy bolt was half the size SUV, and carrying all the explosive power of a tank shell. Those assigned to man the air were merciless in their mass targeting and firing, entire volleys of projectiles thundering from the black ground to the crowded sky. Sometimes the shots merged together into enormous fireballs or energy blasts that plowed through everything in their way before finally exploding. Those that were lucky enough to avoid being caught in the blast had to endure the pulverizing shockwaves that followed.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Even with his armor MetalGarurumon could feel the sheer force of the shockwaves slamming against his insides. The DeviKnightmon were turning their air-assault into a game of pinball.
"AERIAL RAID BEGIN!" Boomed one of the lead DeviKnightmon throwing up his massive war axe.
"INCOMING ON OUR RIGHT!" Screamed one of the Digital commanders of the unit.
MetalGarurumon picked up the multiple boggies on his scanners immediately. "Matt, we're hitting the ground so hang on tight!" Firing up his thrusters the cyborg wolf sped towards the ground while doing the best he could to avoid the enemy fire blasting his allies out of the sky. Feeling Matt flatten himself against him he dive-bombed straight into the firewall. "Grace Cross Freezer!" All the missile ports on his body opened up allowing the dozens of armaments to be unleashed. MetalGarurumon released three rounds of missiles, by some miracle most of them managed to survive long enough to hit their target. "We're going in!"
Matt felt his entire body violently tremble as his partner rocketed towards the ground then at last made impact. The shockwaves traveled up from his legs into him making it feel as if his organs were being turned into Jell-O; his voice failed him in that moment and his mind was too disorientated to grasp the fact they were now the spearhead of the assault team. He couldn't look up to see entire scores of minions and soldiers being flash frozen then blasted to smithereens in the blink of an eye. Sudden turns jerked his organs from one side to another, nearly liquefying them and knocking the air out of his lungs.
"KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!" MetalGarurumon roared while continuing to fire his weapons. He actually doubted Matt could hear his voice, hell, he could barely hear his own over the noise-factory he was contributing to. His gun ports released loads of armaments every second just to give them cover while his supercomputer brain worked in overdrive to avoid all the pitfalls on the way to their target, Wat Saket. The volcanic ground he was speeding over had a temperature of almost one-hundred and sixty degrees Celsius, dangerously close to melting plastic, bare human skin wouldn't be that far behind if someone wasn't careful. For MetalGarurumon it wasn't a problem, the sudden lava geysers though, those were something of an issue.
Following his lead countless other Digimon and their partners blasted their way forward minding the entry hazards on their way to the heavily Buddhist temple.
Twenty-two meters in front of them he saw line of DeviKnightmon standing at the ready to meet their charge. Each of their eyes glowed with a color representing a different sin, the light flowed from their eyes into their weapons or arms which were raised high over their hands.
"WILL OF SIN!" The countless demonic soldiers thundered bringing their weapons down.
CCCCRRRAAA-CCCCKKKK!
"INCOMING!"
"EVADE!"
Multicolored tendrils of energy poured into the ground, and then it surged forward splitting the ground itself throwing volcanic rock and lava all over the place. Hills and structures were uprooted as the energy wave sped towards the DigiDestined.
Cursing so loudly their voices rivaled that of the energy wave heading towards them, the attackers aimed for the sky. Thrusters fired and legs bent then sprung upward, those that weren't able to do either used other means to achieve airtime hoping it would be enough for them to avoid the incoming doom wave. Those in the back who weren't fast enough threw up whatever defensive moves they had in hopes of tanking the combined attack.
Not daring to look down Matt just listened to the sound of the energized shockwave tearing its way across the ground and everything on it. He heard a lot of screaming, no doubt those unfortunate souls who weren't fast enough or high enough to escape the blast. Their screams didn't last long as the explosion nearly deafened Matt as well as fried half his face. It felt like a grenade had gone off mere inches from his face and every ember was either landing on his skin or clawing at it. All it did was just make him shut his eyes even tighter.
Meanwhile MetalGarurumon barked alerting his surviving allies to their next hurdle. Filling the space before them were Boogiemon, Phelesmon, Devidramon, Ghoulmon, Stymphaliamon, and other demonic flyers.
"Demon's Shout!"
"Ruby Eye!"
"Demonic Gale!"
"War Scream!"
"Death Arrow!"
Thousands of missiles, warheads, bullets, and energy beams were launched from the DigiDestined's side to counter the tidal wave of enemy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Another wall of explosions was set off, if not for fear of the unknown the DigiDestined would have continued their attack pushing through the smoke. Sadly the enemy wasn't as cautious as they were.
"INCOMING ENEMY FIRE!" Someone shouted before they were silenced by the sound of the air itself catching fire.
Matt still didn't open his eyes, he just felt the sudden impact of the shock-wave then his partner's evasive actions. For what was probably the fifth time that day his organs were turned into pinballs. Something cracked, amazing and terrifying at the same time he heard a bone somewhere inside his bone crack under all the pressure. Maybe it was in the arm, leg, or one of his ribs, he still couldn't feel the pain such a thing should have brought because too much adrenaline was thundering through his body.
It's quite a rush isn't it? The thrill of battle suppressing any injuries or pain. Some people get hooked on it you know, they want the thrill to keep going so they don't have to deal with the after effect. You're not one of those people are you Matt?
"What!?"
At first he thought it was just a trick or the stress of the battle getting to him, but soon Matt could definitely feel something or someone was watching him. It felt like he someone was breathing down his neck with hot dry breath that made his skin dry out in seconds. Laughter started ringing in his ears sending a chill up his spine and through his heart. Inside he could have sworn he actually felt some invisible force seize his heart in a death grip that silenced his breathing and thinking.
And to think all this wouldn't have been possible without your fledging race of idiots, freaks, and losers. I must say your kind's stupidity is truly astounding. A shame you haven't quite gotten the hang of all-out warfare like we Digimon have, lucky for you we're happy to help in that regard.
At last when he was able to focus his mind Matt was able to place the deep voice. From beneath his gas-mask he sneered, "Daemon!"
How about a little conversation to take your mind off your impending death? Between you and me I really don't care much for Bangkok, Barbamon and I aren't the best of friends in case you couldn't tell. You'll notice, all the gold and bling around you, the refineries, all his test I'm afraid. You should see what he's done to the Silom and Thonburi districts, oh you know what, I'll show you!"
Matt didn't have time to comprehend the fact there was now a Demon Lord in his head before an indescribable feeling overtook his body. MetalGarurumon's firm body began to drift further and further away from him as did the sounds of combat. His blue eyes snapped from one side to the next only to see blurry red and black shapes. When he felt his feet touch solid ground he internally jumped. Mirage or not the ground was hot enough if he wasn't wearing custom boots his feet would have second or even third-degree burns on them. At first he ran his hands over his body to make sure he still had on all the protective gear that he'd been given so he could survive the hellish environment Bangkok had now become.
Welcome to Neo-Silom Matt, a sneak preview of what Barbamon has in store for your race! Came Daemon's mocking voice sounding in his ear. His laughter continued as the blonde rocker twisted his head trying to find the source. Don't bother worrying about me. Unless you and your little army of toy soldiers and school children can muster the strength this is what you'll have to look forward to!
If it weren't for Daemon Matt never would have known he was standing in the middle of one of Bangkok's most well-known sub-districts. In addition to all the banks and finical institutions Silom boasted a fine line-up of hotels, small malls, restaurants, and the Skytrain. Looking around him Matt doubted he'd ever see any of those glorious sights restored in his life time because what he was looking at wasn't Silom Bangkok. Some of the skyscrapers were still standing, granted they'd been warped into twisted mockeries of their original form. That could have gone for every building that hadn't been demolished, whatever substance they'd been made of had been replaced with hard volcanic rock or black marble that gleamed in the flaming heat. Somehow Matt didn't need to go further than a few steps to realize most the sub-district had been left shockingly intact. It was at that moment Matt knew he'd seen too much as the fact horrified him, there were still hundreds of thousands of people living in Silom.
Overhead thunder boomed and crimson-colored lightning between the clouds. More startling than the weather were the multitude of voices that shimmered into existence around Matt. Shaken he turned in all directions to find dozens of people, men and women of all ages, emerging from the darkness and cracks. Their eyes held a dark hunger that made his sense of danger flare up to the highest levels.
CLINK!
Turning to his left Matt saw something fall from the sky onto the blackened ground. Before he had to a chance to walk over and examine it an entire crowd of people burst from the shadows and pounced on the object, each of them clawing at the other to get at it.
CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!
At first Matt was puzzled once he realized what was raining down from the sky were coins and jewels. A handful landed barely three feet from his feet, some of them the size of his fist. A concert of howls and screeches went up from the darkness, all them shouting their possession or ownership of the jewels now pouring down from the black sky.
And that's when complete and total chaos came skewering from the darkness and into the view of Matt's eyes.
Bodies scratched and clawed at each other over the jewels and coins like feral animals over a slap of meat. Some of them were barely clothed while others had absolutely zero clothing, old and young went at each other with the furious force of an enraged bear. Voices rose and fell amidst the violent scuffle, all of them shouting what belonged to them and others refusing to acknowledge it. Soon enough the sound of flash sizzling and burning began to rise up, those unlucky few who weren't strong enough were being pressed against the volcanic ground, easily burning away their skin and what lay beneath it. Too many people were barefoot, but they didn't care in their mad dash to collect the treasure raining down upon them. Bodies slammed against bodies, make-shift weapons were mercilessly plunged into whatever lay before their wielders, and open hands shot for anything shiny. Blood quickly began leaking from open wounds, many red streams formed thick rivers.
Words failed the bearer of the Crest of Friendship, all he could do was stand alone in the street as hundreds of people tore themselves apart over the jewels. Only his mask protected him from inhaling the wretched smell of death that new permeated the street. Taking one trembling step back Matt felt the precious jewels begin to lightly impact his head and shoulders. Countless gems littered the ground at his feet alerting the various survivors fighting each other.
When he saw their eyes Matt knew these people had been possessed by Barbamon as evident by the purple glow in their eyes. Looking closer through the lens of his mask Matt saw everyone fighting for the gems had Barbamon's signature color outlining their bodies.
"MINE!"
Two seconds later and Matt was struggling to breath under the teeming mass of bodies. His entire body howled in pain under the immense pressure, his protective armor not at all helping things. His defiant screaming for them to get off of him failed as his voice was quickly lost beneath the tidal wave of greedy voices.
Barbamon's handy work is quite a sight to see eh? Disgusting isn't it? How easily people can turn into filthy animals the minute they catch sight of something shiny. Then again it really doesn't have to be greed, all you have to do is just give people a little push.
"Why are you doing this to me? Do you have some kind of personal beef with me? Is that it!?"
Heheheh…I could go on about why I'm doing this to you. I hate Barbamon, I hate humans, and of course I hate you. Putting up that pathetic mask to hide your problems from those around; I find it absolutely disgusting.
"And those problems would be robe-faced?"
Your parents and your resentment of Digimon.
"WHAT!?"
The Japanese youth felt the temperature heating up causing him to squirm even more within his body armor. His heart pounded against his chest as if it were trying to escape the coming threat only to find itself just as confined as his body was. Against logical and reason Matt attempted to frail his arms, to lift off the massive weight above him, but all of it was in vain.
You wanted a normal life, that's you've ever wanted. A normal, boring life with no crossroads or speed bumps. There's nothing wrong with that, most people want that, no fuss, no stardom, just a quiet road to their final days. A tad boring if you ask me, but this isn't about me Matt, it's about you. YOU wanted that life, from the depths of your soul you wanted that boring day-to-day existence! Unfortunately you didn't get that, you thought you would after your first adventure, but normalcy never returned. Seems she's decided she doesn't want to be with you, heh, much like how Sora preferred Tai over you. While you may have forgiven her for that one the people you haven't forgiven are your parents. There was a deathly quiet pause that made Matt wish he would just suffocate already under all the pressure. All you wanted was that ideally family life most kids got, two-parent household, no dancing around certain issues, and most of all…no digital monsters busting down your door and demanding your aid. Deep down, where you refuses to let anyone look, you resent your status as a DigiDestined. Hahahahaha! Don't look so shocked! Is there anything wrong with hating to play janitor to another world's messes? How many times have you had to put your own life on hold to go save the world? How many times have you had to risk your life for the safety of a nameless audience that cares not rather you live or die? I can see it all Matt, how fed up with it you're starting to become! Jun was the last straw, the way she came off so NORMAL compared to everything you've known. You hated her for having that life you wanted for yourself and T.K.!"
"That's bullshit!" He roared back at the invisible voice with enough force it brought feeling back to his body. Renewed strength surged through the blonde's body and his blood burned hotter than ever. "I may be pissed off I can't have a normal life, but you're out of your damn mind if I blame anyone for it! I've accepted being a DigiDestined is part of who I am! I've accepted my family life is never going to be what it once was! I've accepted all of that and moved on so do me a favor and drop it already! If you're going to play mind games with me then come up with some new material!"
Interest response, maybe Jun did make the right choice in switching her affections back for you. A shame she didn't read the warning label that came with it, it just might have saved her life. Oh well.
"WHERE IS SHE!?"
It almost sounds like you're starting to care for her, once again, it's a pity you came too late. That seems to be a recurring trend with you Matt, you're always too little too late.
Darkness began to override more and more of Matt's senses starting with his hearing then his sense of smell. "NO! You're wrong! You're dead wrong you psychotic freak!" Taste went next followed by his sight leaving him with the ability to do nothing but feel, all he felt were bloody bodies and hands burying him further and further in darkness. No matter what he did or how loud he screamed there was nothing he could do to stop it until even his sense of touch was swallow up. "YOU'RE WRONG!"
BOOOOMMM!
THUMP!
As if he'd been struck by lightning Matt's life flashed before his eyes in the span of seconds, his past, his worst moments and his best, and then he was staring up at the darken sky. Unsure of rather it was real or not he tried to push himself upward only to find he didn't have the strength for it. Or maybe it was the light pain running through his entire body acting like lead weights halting his movements. It was felt like being suspended over a burning candle.
CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! BOOOOM!
The battle was still raging and apparently things had gotten worst during his black out.
Matt didn't have much time to see how since a heavy foot brought itself down on top of his chest. As his hands went to pry the boot off of him his eyes shot up to see the cold lava-colored slits of a DeviKnightmon standing over him.
"…Shit."
The DeviKnightmon said nothing as it raised its flame spear above its head with the tip aimed at Matt's throat.
If he was lucky death would be so fast he wouldn't feel the pain of the fire eating away at his flesh. One could hope.
"COCYTUS BREATH!"
Just like with Gabumon's Blue Blaster Matt got an unwanted up-close look at his partner's cryogenic breath attacks, only MetalGarurumon's Cocytus Breath was a hundred times worse. The DeviKnightmon completely disappeared in the all-consuming blast of absolute zero air that appeared like flames. From up close Matt could now understand how his Mega-level partner's attack could be mistaken for fire even though it froze everything it touched including the air itself as it traveled towards the target. Layers upon layers of frost developed not just over his face but over his chest and shoulders, a testament to just how cold MetalGarurumon's attack was. Snapping his eyes to the left he saw his partner wasn't even close to being finished; the Cocytus Breath continued sweeping through large pools of Demon and Fallen Angel Digimon. Some were obliterated on the spot while others were frozen solid leaving them open to a finishing blow. Turning to the multitude of roars above Matt saw scores of Gigadramon and Megadramon swarming in amongst other mechanical flyers. Wave after wave of missiles and bombs were launched and sped towards their targets with speed not even the Ghoulmon could outmatch.
Since he was still lying flat against the hard ground he felt every one of the vibrations produced by the impact of hundreds of missiles and warheads. Again, all the protective armor he wore worked against him as he felt more like a pinball than ever. If something else happened Matt feared his heart would explode inside his chest.
In a flash MetalGarurumon was on him, inspecting him for any sign of injury. "Matt, are you okay?"
"Y-Y-Yeah, as okay as I can be at the m-moment." He managed to spit out.
"I know you're shaken, but we need you to get your head back in the game! In twenty seconds Suijinmon's going to announce an all-out attack to take the Golden Mount!"
Looking over in the direction of the target Matt saw three volcanic walls the size of fortress walls protecting the tainted temple. On top of that stood legions of demonic Digimon who looked to be a second away from abandoning their post and swarming them. Towering above them were golden siege towers that weren't just blasting fireballs but also boulder-sized gems that exploded into shrapnel once they hit something. "How in the hell is he going to do that?" If they tried a frontal charge there was no doubt they would all die, painfully.
"Because in three seconds we're going to have a clear path. Get on and hold on tight because this is going to be one hell of a sprint!" The metallic wolf growled lowering himself so his partner could climb on. Above all the radio chatter he listened closely to the feminine voice of one of the Metal Empire's strongest warriors. "Four…three…two…one!"
"SHINE BREAKER!"
For the entire fifty-two minutes Operation Bang Break had taken place no one had seen any color besides red and black dominate the sky. For many it had grown depressing rather quickly, but that just made Aegisdramon's strongest attack all the more glorious to witness. Eleven beams of pulsating energy shining all manners of bright colors stood out in sharp contrast against the hellish sky, splitting it in half as the lot of them raced across the air towards the defensive line. For the DigiDestined and their allies the term "divine light" only barely did the energy beams justice, for the demons two simple words could sum up how they felt about the multiple energy beams heading their way.
KKKKAAAAA-BBBBOOOOMMMMM!
Even those with the highest grade optics had to look away from the explosion that engulfed the defensive walls less they become blinded. Everyone had to find some way to anchor themselves down or else they would have been knocked away by the gale force winds the gigantic explosion produced, and even then for some of them it wasn't enough to hold them in place.
Naturally MetalGarurumon recovered faster than Matt did, his attention went to the hulking red armored Digimon moving to the front of the crowd. While serving as a diplomat of sorts he'd come to greatly admire Suijinmon as a commander and warrior. That made what he was about to next easier to accept.
"ALL FORCES, FORWARD ADVANCE TOWARDS THE WAT SAKET! DO NOT STOP FOR ANYTHING OR ANYONE! IF SOMETHING GETS IN YOUR WAY BLAST AND KEEP MOVING! NOW FORWARD!" Boomed the mechanical voice of the Ultimate Waterfall Commander.
Matt and MetalGarurumon disappeared into the endless multi-colored wave that followed Suijinmon's lead. For MetalGarurumon his mind went entirely towards getting to and destroying the distorted temple. For Matt he tried to push Daemon's jabs to the back of his mind.
"Just a cog in the machine," He repeatedly told himself to keep his overwhelming feelings from spilling out. "Just a cog in the machine."
Four targets, four armies, and almost thousand demons each defending against them. Willis did not like the way that equation was set up. The "Demon's Diamond" was the codename that had been given to the four targets, each one a DigiPort resonating with the others forming a giant dimensional hole Barbamon used to its fullest extent. The Wat Saket, the Mahakon Fort, Loha Prasat, and the Democracy Monument, all once proud landmarks representing not just Bangkok but Thailand's history and culture now had been transformed into interdimensional gates which countless demons and monsters used to flood into their world. As painful as it was it was agreed upon that each of them were going to have to be destroyed if the Demon Lords were going to be stopped. There were various jokes about who was going to take responsibility for the destruction of national landmarks, it was the only way for many of the kids to make light of the unprecedented act of property destruction they were going to commit. Willis remembered laughing about it, now he wasn't.
In the last few months before the war started Willis had been giving some thought to architecture in terms of what he wanted to do with his life. It just so happened one lazy afternoon while studying he came upon the Bangkok Democracy Monument. He remembered spending some time reading up on the public monument with a history stretching back over sixty years. Admittedly once he was finished Willis had a small desire to see it for himself, rather or not he actually would one day was a fun question to toss around whenever he grew bored. Oh how cruel fate was as he looked upon the malformed structure in the distance.
Where to begin with how Barbamon had warped a nation's vision of modernization? The size was a good place to start, the Democracy Monument was large enough to occupy a traffic circle and be noticeable; it wasn't a towering piece of work that stretched towards the sky. Barbamon had used his demonic power to enlarge the Democracy Monument to enormous proportions so its size was roughly half that of a baseball stadium. At about ten miles out the four wing-like structures that composed the monument were visibly, probably because they know glowed with such a deep eerie radiance it was impossible not to look at them.
"Willis, any second now we're going to be encountering resistance, are you ready?" Rapidmon asked with clear concern in his voice. Beside him Antylamon gave him his own worried glance. It was only natural they could sense his growing distress, they were his partners and in their current forms were more linked to his emotions.
Ready or not the enemy would be upon them in a few short minutes. "Just like mom always said, take two deep breaths-one for your heart and one for your head." Problem was the air he was breathing in was thick with smoke and he couldn't breathe it in proper through his gas mask. He did his best though with what little he could get in. "Yeah guys, I'm ready. Rapidmon, just try not to shake me off with all those Top Gun moves you like doing. Same to you Antylamon." The American's confident voice came out.
The Golden Armor Digimon and Ultimate-level rabbit shared a look with each other. Rather or not Willis was up to par wasn't what they could afford to worry about, keeping him and themselves alive was. Ahead of them stood a concentrated force of four-hundred devils and fallen angels. They were two brothers amongst a force of two hundred and fifty well-trained fighters capable of taking down three or four on their own. As Willis had stated, "No matter what I never end up liking the odds."
As the first Ghoulmon exchanged fire with their attack force the two brothers couldn't help but agree with their human partner.
I had to take so many breaks writing this chapter it was painful and irritating. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with this chapter but I just couldn't put it all into words, hopefully next chapter will go a little better since rather than individual accounts it'll be more of an overview. Leave a review and until next time readers!