(A/N: Ahhhhhh! What is with me and these cheesy chapter titles lately? Am I just a sucker for puns? Well, ok, yes, I guess I am a bit. Anyway, time to pick up where last chapter's cliffhanger left off.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 38: From Duskmon to Dawn
Tai looked towards the trees where his sister had disappeared into. "Boy, Kari sure is taking a long time."
Davis snorted. "Girls always take a long time in the bathroom. You should see how long it takes my sister."
"Davis, that's incredibly sexist," Takuya told him. "…And true," he added as an afterthought as he thought about his own girlfriend.
"Yeah," Tai agreed, "but it's not like we're home where she has a whole makeup set. Actually, Kari doesn't really wear much makeup anyway."
"Well, sometimes it takes a while to go," Takato pointed out.
The older boy made a face. "Thanks for that image."
He waited several minutes more. When she still didn't come back, he got up. "This is ridiculous. Kari, what are you doing? Did you get lost?"
He headed for the trees to find her, leaving the others to drift off by the fire. Sleep was just starting to take hold when Tai came rushing back, waving something in the air. "Kari's gone!"
TK sat up, instantly wide-awake. "What do you mean, she's gone?"
"Just what I said, she's gone! This is all I found." He held up her pink and white shoe. "Something must have happened to her."
Takato stood up. "We don't know that yet. Maybe she just got lost when… Ah, who am I kidding?"
Grumbling, Shoutmon got to his feet. "Figures. We finally get a moment's peace, and one of us goes missing. Guess we won't be getting any sleep tonight." At the sound of Davis snoring, he kicked the sleeping human, partly out of envy. "Hey, wake up!"
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Focus!" Tai snapped impatiently. "We have to find her!"
"Find who?"
TK ignored him. "Maybe I should Spirit Evolve and fly around."
Takato sighed. "You'll never find her in the dark." He pulled out his Digivice. "I'll take care of this. As Growlmon, my nose is better than a dog's. Execute! Spirit Evolution… Growlmon!"
The large, red dinosaur Digimon appeared, and Tai motioned to where he found the shoe. "This is where I found it."
"Hmm," Growlmon muttered, sniffing around the area. After a moment, he began growling as he looked back at Tai, his pupils shrinking down to black specks in his yellow eyes. "I've got some bad news. Duskmon has her."
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
"Let me go, you creep!" Kari demanded as she kicked and punched everywhere she could.
Her blows were ineffective. Duskmon kept walking along, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist. "Be silent. You'll have plenty of time to scream when you meet my master."
She just struggled that much harder. If only she could reach her Digivice, but with his arm wrapped around her waist like that, she couldn't get to it.
With a well-aimed punch, she managed to hit him in the large eye on his shoulder… and felt like she broke her hand. It seemed that Duskmon's eyes either had a protective shell over them, or were made of something a lot harder than what normal eyes were made of.
Reaching up, she managed to grab a fistful of his hair and gave it a yank. That seemed to get some response out of the demon Digimon, but he simply shifted her in his hold so she could no longer reach his blonde locks.
Kari wasn't a fool. She knew that unless she managed to Spirit Evolve, she didn't stand a chance of escaping. When Duskmon had captured her, he had kept his blade to her throat, preventing her from calling out until they were far enough away that her friends wouldn't hear her if she screamed. Fortunately, she had managed to kick off her one of shoes. Hopefully, when she didn't come back, they would find it and realize that something had happened to her.
"Just you wait," she told him stubbornly. "My friends will come for me."
"For their sakes, you better hope they don't. It will give them a little longer to live. Make no mistake, this time I will be sure to finish them off. But you, you will wish for death many times before this is over."
There was an explosion of vegetation as Growlmon came charging out of the trees. "No, you will! Dragon Slash!"
He flung a blade of plasma at the demon Digimon, wary of his hostage. Duskmon whirled around and knocked it away with his sword before catching the very blade that had thrown the attack a moment before Growlmon slashed at him with it.
"Kari!" MetalGreymon cried as he and the others, also in their Digimon forms, rushed out of the trees.
"You found me," said Duskmon. "Impressive."
"My nose knows," Growlmon told him, pushing back against Duskmon's blade.
"Then I suppose I'll have to do something about that."
He knocked away Growlmon's blade, then jumped up and kicked him in the nose. He landed a distance away, but the movement caused Kari to shift in his hold, allowing her to grab her Digivice.
"Got it! Execute! Spirit Evolution… Nefertimon!"
Much bigger now, she easily broke out of Duskmon's hold and rejoined the others. They stood as one against the demon Digimon, this time determine to take the win.
Duskmon looked at them, regarding their determination with interest. "You should know that you can't defeat me."
"Listen, pal," Paildramon snapped, "we've had a very long night so far. All I want to do is get some sleep, but apparently, you're not going to let us do that. So our only option left is to get rid of you."
Duskmon crossed his blades. "If you can."
He used Ghost Move to teleport to them, appearing above MetalGreymon's head and swinging his blade. MetalGreymon's metal claw came up, blocking the blow, and Angemon flew towards him using Angel Rod.
Duskmon teleported again, and Angemon hit nothing but air. He reappeared a distance from Growlmon, who proceeded to unleash his Pyro Blaster upon him. Duskmon charged forward, darting around the blast, and slamming into the dinosaur Digimon's gut.
With the breath knocked out of him, Growlmon went down. But as Duskmon leapt away, he lunged forward, chomping down on the demon Digimon's leg. Duskmon raised his blade to strike, but Nefertimon's Golden Noose wrapped around his arm, pulling it back. Paildramon then flew in with his Sting Strike, followed by Angemon attempting to use his Angel Rodagain. Duskmon caught the dragon Digimon's lance with his other blade while raising his knee to block Angemon's attack.
"Deadly Gaze!"
Beams shot out of his numerous eyes, blasting the Digimon around him. Free from Growlmon's jaw and Nefertimon's lasso of light, he was on the move again. Agunimon charged at him from the other direction, the two set to collide. Duskmon turned his dash into his Brute Strike attack while Agunimon sent out several fire dragons using his Pyro Punch.
Duskmon cut through the first fire dragon, and the second, then jumped over the third. He came down towards Agunimon, who leapt back, his collision creating a large crater.
Standing just above the impact sight, Agunimon unleashed his Pyro Tornado. Duskmon remained perfectly still as the fiery vortex spun around him, being sure to remain in the center to avoid the flames. When he saw an opening, he jumped straight up and out of the top, only to be hit by MetalGreymon's Giga Blaster.
"Nice shot," Paildramon commented. "Now it's my turn. Electric Bolt!"
As he fell, Duskmon's center eye on his chest darted to the bolt and fired a beam, canceling out the attack. Doing a flip, he landed on his feet. Growlmon used Dragon Slash followed by Pyro Blaster, but Duskmon knocked the first attack away and cut through the second.
"Too fast," Growlmon noted. "He's too fast for us."
"Lets see if he's too fast for this. Desperado Blaster!"
A rain of bullets came down at the demon Digimon. He proved Growlmon right by taking off, Paildramon's attack tearing up the ground around him. Doubling back, he raced towards the dragon Digimon and leapt into the air, ready to slash him. Paildramon fired his Cable Catcher, but Duskmon swatted the wire-claws away and teleported above him, blade raised to cut downward.
"Mega Claw!" MetalGreymon cried.
Duskmon glanced to his left, just short of cutting Paildramon on half, and was struck by the cyborg dinosaur Digimon's metal claw. One of the claws pierced his shoulder and brought him down, the large metal arm pinning him to the ground.
MetalGreymon retracted his arm and slashed at the air with it, using Powerful Flame. Duskmon teleported away, avoiding the wave of fire. He reappeared by the edge of the woods, and that's when Shoutmon finally came out.
"Boy, you guys are fast," he wheezed, his hands on his knees. "Too bad you can't stay Digimon all the time."
He apparently didn't see Duskmon, nor did he see him suddenly teleport behind him. Duskmon's foot came down on him, and Shoutmon suddenly found himself being crushed into the ground by the demon Digimon's foot.
"Shoutmon!" Growlmon cried. "Let him go, you big bully!"
"Certainly," Duskmon drawled, digging his foot into the dragon Digimon's back, making him groan in pain. "I'll trade you for the girl."
Nefertimon growled. "What is the big deal with me?"
"Nothing more than the fact that the master wants to sample your blood."
"I'm not a late night snack!"
"And I'm not some useless hostage," Shoutmon grumbled. "I'm the Digimon King!"
Grabbing a handful of dirt, he threw it up in Duskmon's face. The demon Digimon groaned and began rubbing his eyes; apparently, the ones in his head were more sensitive than the numerous other ones on his body.
Agunimon acted while he was distracted. He fired his Pyro Punch, hitting Duskmon in the same place MetalGreymon's claw had stabbed him. He stumbled back, off of Shoutmon, and Nefertimon lashed out with her Golden Noose, pulling the dragon Digimon away. Angemon then used his Halo Attack, drawing a ring in the air. A halo appeared over Duskmon's head, expanded, lowered, and then shrank, pinning the demon Digimon's arms to his sides.
"Sting Strike!" Paildramon cried, racing towards him. Duskmon struggled against the halo as the dragon Digimon came at him. At the last possible moment, he broke free and raised his blades. Paildramon's lance struck and broke through his defense, and Duskmon was thrown backwards. "Who says he's too fast?"
Breathing heavily, Duskmon rose to his feet. He looked down at the skulls that served for his hands, seeing that his left sword had snapped in half from Paildramon's attack, the broken blade resting point first in the ground a distance away.
A growl escaped the demon Digimon as he glared at the DigiDestined. "No more games. It's time to end this."
Growlmon gulped. "Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?"
"Duskmon Digivolve to…"
"Yup, he is."
"Velgemon!"
The monstrous vulture Digimon that had defeated them before now stood in Duskmon's place. He screeched loudly and took to the air, circling around overhead.
"Ok, guys," said MetalGreymon, "we know what to expect this time. Lets take him down."
Velgemon fired beams from his eyes at them, and Agunimon jumped back to avoid them. "Easier said than done."
Screeching loudly, the vulture Digimon continued to fire at them. They avoided the beams easily enough, but Growlmon couldn't help but notice that he wasn't really even trying to hit them.
Suddenly swooping down from the sky, Velgemon began to draw a circle around them. Growlmon's eyes widened as he recognized the attack that had nearly taken them out. He then realized that he and his friends were all standing together when they had been spread out before. Velgemon hadn't been trying to hit them with those beams, he had been trying to bunch them up so he could take them out with his Dark Obliteration. For a creature that lacked intelligence and relied mostly on his destructive killing instinct, that was pretty smart.
It seemed that MetalGreymon had also come to the same conclusion. "Run for it!"
Grabbing Shoutmon, Angemon took the air along with Nefertimon and Paildramon. Agunimon and MetalGreymon made a mad dash for the outside of the circle, but Growlmon chose his exit strategically.
He was cutting it close, but he ran for the starting/ending point of the circle Velgemon had been drawing. As the vulture Digimon came about to close the circle, Growlmon tackled him. The glowing circle disappeared as the dinosaur Digimon bit down on Velgemon's wing, causing the vulture Digimon to screech.
"Great job," MetalGreymon exclaimed, raising his metal claw as he charged towards them. "Now just hold him there!"
Velgemon turned to the cyborg dinosaur Digimon and fired his Dark Vortex. MetalGreymon came to a stop, his eyes glowing red, and turned to the others.
"Oh, great," Agunimon grumbled. "Now, MetalGreymon, Tai, just hold on a second."
"Giga Blaster!"
Paildramon rushed forward. "Desperado Blaster!"
His bullets sprayed against MetalGreymon's missiles. They held them back for a few moments before the two explosives blasted apart. The cyborg dinosaur Digimon blinked the red out of his eyes, immediately understanding what happened. "That miserable, rotten…"
He turned back to the vulture Digimon. It was attempting to fly back into the sky, but Growlmon had chomped down onto his tail, trying to pull him back down, rather unsuccessfully. Growlmon was already being lifted off the ground as the vulture Digimon gained altitude.
Paildramon quickly joined Growlmon, the two managing to pull Velgemon back down. MetalGreymon reloaded and fired another Giga Blaster, this time at the vulture Digimon. Beams fired from his eyes, destroying the first missile, but the second one found its mark.
Velgemon went down, screeching violently. When he tried to rise, Angemon knocked him back down with his Hand of Fate. The vulture Digimon's head snapped in his direction and he used Dark Vortex, but Nefertimon fired a Rosetta Stone into the beam's path. Velgemon's beam blasted apart the stone slab, but Angemon was spared from falling under his control.
Rising up, Velgemon flapped his mighty wings. The DigiDestined were blown back by a powerful gust as the vulture Digimon took flight. MetalGreymon fired his Mega Claw, but Velgemon swatted it away with his wing.
In the sky, Paildramon, Angemon, and Nefertimon flew after him. They fired their Electric Bolt, Beam of Isis, and Holy Shot at him, but Velgemon doubled back and flew straight through the attacks, wrapping his wings around himself for cover. He whizzed past the three Digimon unexpectedly and whirled around, firing beams from his eyes at each of them. Their eyes began glowing red as his Dark Vortex took hold, and they turned their attention to their friends.
"Uh oh," Growlmon muttered.
"This is really getting old," Agunimon agreed.
The three flying Digimon swooped down at them from the sky. Agunimon only had time to grab hold of Shoutmon and throw him away from the group before Angemon tackled him, and Nefertimon did the same to Growlmon and Paildramon to MetalGreymon. And as the friends 'fought' amongst themselves, Velgemon was using the opportunity to draw another circle for his Dark Obliteration attack.
MetalGreymon struggled to hold back Paildramon's assault as he watched the vulture Digimon circle around them. "Wake up, you idiot!"
He managed to hit the dragon Digimon upside the head with his metal arm. Paildramon blinked, the red disappearing from his eyes as he realized what he was doing. Spotting Velgemon already halfway done with his circle as Angemon and Nefertimon fought to hold down Agunimon and Growlmon, he quickly assessed the situation. "Sorry about this, guys."
The guns on his hips pointed at the two possessed Digimon. He fired a single bullet from each, hitting both his friends in the head, the impacts bringing them back to their senses.
"Wha…?" Angemon mumbled, his hand going to his head. Whatever had hit him, he was glad for his helmet.
"No time!" MetalGreymon shouted, already on the move. "He's circling, move!"
A quick glance at Velgemon explained the situation, and they made a beeline for the outside of the glowing ring. Velgemon completed his circle and flew up as the dome began to rise and close.
Clamping shut, it erupted in a mighty blast. Velgemon circled around the rising cloud of smoke, remembering in the back of his mind to make sure they were dead this time. His search was interrupted, however, by a Fiery Fastball being thrown at him, and he glanced at Shoutmon.
"Hey, bird-brain!" the dragon Digimon called up to him. "Feeling a sense of déjà vu?"
While he was distracted, Paildramon burst out of the cloud of smoke, his lance extended. "Sting Strike!"
Velgemon turned just in time to see the dragon Digimon before Paildramon's lance stabbed into his chest, piercing his black heart. A horrible screech that seemed to be mixed with Duskmon's cry escaped the vulture Digimon as he and Paildramon fell from the sky.
They fell to the ground beside the smoking crater with the dragon Digimon on top, his lance buried deep in Velgemon's chest. "That's for Etemon."
A grumbling escaped the vulture Digimon before he went still and his body dissolved into data. Paildramon stood up and watched as Velgemon disappeared, leaving only the glowing bits of data behind.
"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Shoutmon cheered as he ran over to absorb the data before it disappeared. But before he could get to it, the data began flying away from him, and he gave it a confused look. "What, huh?"
It flew up in the sky into what seemed to be a swarm of bats, flowing into it. The swarm came down to where the DigiDestined were and the bats scattered, revealing a Digimon inside. "What a pity," they said, absorbing the last of Velgemon's data. "I thought he had you with his Dark Obliteration, but it looks like you got away in time. I guess he was a failure after all."
Shoutmon yelped and jumped behind Paildramon. The larger Digimon glanced at him before pointing at the newcomer. "Hey, that's Shoutmon's data. We won it for him. Give it back."
Peeking out from behind Paildramon's leg, Shoutmon shook his head. "No, that's ok, he can keep it." He motioned towards him. "Guys, that's him."
Growlmon cocked his head to the side. "Him who?"
A smirk crept up the vampire Digimon's face, exposing his fangs. "You mean you declared war on me without knowing who I am? You humans are even more foolish than I thought." He bowed to them in greeting. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Myotismon, and I am your doom."
A/N: Duskmon/Velgemon has finally been defeated. Looks like Paildramon got to take him down after all. But now there's an even bigger problem. Myotismon himself is here, and he just absorbed Velgemon's data, as if he actually needed the power boost. So what now? Are they going to fight? Is this the chance our heroes need to defeat Myotismon? Or did they just step out of the frying pan and into the fire? Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter.)